# 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 / 𝑺𝒎𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝑺𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒔
STRANGER THINGS FANFICTION
✩ risasprings, 2024 ✷

CHAPTER ONE ━━━━ BIANCA'S GUIDE TO AVOIDING POPULARITY

▊ 𝐂𝐈𝐑𝐂𝐀 𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟑𝟎𝐓𝐇, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟒
𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒔2

BIANCA BYERS SITS in the front seat of her old run down ford coupe. The purple on the car had faded with age and now it looked more like a dusty lilac faded with age. She instinctively rolled her eyes at the car beside her slamming their horn at her as she took their spot in the lane. Out of spite, she impulsively slammed her hand down on her steering wheel. Blaring her horn back at them.

She turns to the curb of the parking lot in between Hawkins Middle School and Hawkins High as the person in the other car zooms away the opposite direction. She smirks victoriously as she parks the car in the parking lot. Figures. Out of all the high schoolers in her school most
of them would probably honk their horn at her angrily.

She half expected that other driver to be a high schooler. But then again office workers are pricks too. Considering that almost, if not half of them are assholes. Over the years she managed to somehow finds ways to stay under the radar and out of the spotlight that makes up Hawkins High. Most of all, she avoids the current reigning king of Hawkins high. Steve Harrington himself.

As long as she sticks to the plan and avoids him and his posse as much as she'd physically be able to. By now she's gotten used to being the ridicule of the school. But now she's more equipped with knowing how to run under the radar of being made fun of. She's learned from her mistakes, so hopefully the last school year she has before she gets to senior year will be uneventful.

She's almost sure she'll fall off the deep end if she doesn't manage to stay under the radar for the remainder of the school year. Or at least until her other classmates are forced to acknowledge her existence and pretend they'll miss being in school with her. Even though she's 100% sure she's never even had a conversation with any of them in her entire life.

After all that happened last year she doesn't want to be known as the girl whose little brother went missing just because she didn't pick him up one time. She sighs softly as she turns her head around to look at Will. "Hey." She mutters smiling hesitantly at an exhausted looking little brother in the backseat of her car. He smiles at her weakly as she unbuckles her seatbelt to get a better look at him.

She stares at him worriedly. "You okay?" She notices how quiet he's been lately. Less talkative than he usually was, it hurt her to see him like this. All she wanted was for him to go back to the way he was before. But she knew that wouldn't be possible. Nothing could change what he saw last year. And she knew that, no matter how hard she tried to shield Will away from all the terrible things in the world. She still failed.

Will nods slowly. "Yeah, yeah." He nods again, faster this time. "I'm fine B. Don't worry about me." He muttered staring down into his lap slightly, shaking his head softly. She sighs slightly, like she knew she couldn't believe that. "Hey. Listen to me, kid. Alright? I know— I know that things are hard right now but." She takes a deep breath in, and he looks at her expectantly. "But?" Will asked her, confusion in his eyes.

She tried to muster up one of her best smiles at him. She rarely smiled, but her best smiles were always targeted at him. "Things will get better. Okay? Believe me." She reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder. Will frowns. "How do you know?" He asks her softly, the confusion evident in his voice. "Because." She smiles at him again, and Will's eyebrow furrows in confusion. "You're Will Byers, and you always get through it." She rubs his back reassuringly.

Her back hurt slightly from reaching over from the front seat to touch him, but she doesn't seem to care. The rare smile that makes it way onto her brother's lips tells her she's made the right choice. It's until that smile fades that she feels her heart break a little. She breathed in slightly. "Alright. Let's get a move on, alright? You want me to come with you to the front?" She knew their mom usually insisted on dropping him off at the front. But the poor kid deserved some normality.

Mom had been treating him like he was made of glass ever since he got back from the upside down. Will shook his head. "No, I'm okay. Mike, Finn, Dustin and Lucas are gonna meet me there." He told her with another shake of his head for good measure. She handed him his backpack she had kept in the front seat for safe keeping. He smiled at her gratefully and opened the car's backseat to get going. "I'll see you later baby brother." She waved at him on his way out and blew him a kiss.

He caught the kiss and grinned. "Thanks, Bianca." He stepped out of the car quietly. Once she heard the soft click of the door closing behind him she knew he was gone. She sighed again, drumming her fingers onto the steering wheel in pure habit. She grimaced as she looked towards the highschool. Just another day, right? She rubbed her eyes tiredly and yawned.

She spent all night studying for Mrs. Clicks class, or Mrs. Clickety-Clackity the nickname some of the resident band kids she'd heard had given the history teacher. She had spent the entire night revising the stupid declaration of independence and who wrote it. She had no idea how knowing who wrote the fucking declaration of independence would help her later in life. But all she wants is to pass her history class and hopefully get a two free blocks for her last year at school.

Bianca's twin brother, Jonathan had been taking history with her. Until he switched out of the class so he could take photography instead. So Bianca had been left alone to deal with sitting right behind Steve Harrington. The only good thing was that she sat next to a nice girl named Robin Buckley. Robin didn't talk much, but she considered her a friend as much as you could be with someone you saw every day. She didn't talk much but Bianca like the comfortable silences that fell between them anyways.

Jonathan had always arrived to school earlier than she did, so they had decided on Bianca dropping Will off to the middle school every day. Whenever she couldn't, Jonathan would take over now that he quit his job out of fear that something would happen to Will again and he'd be kept late at work. She stretched her arms out as she started to undo her seatbelt. Now her biggest issue was getting through the rest of the school day without anyone noticing her.

It was easy for Bianca Byers to be invisible. Every single year it seems that she's becoming more and more of an oddity within itself. The constant attention that was on her and Jonathan last year during Will's disappearance was something she never wanted to relive ever again. It was akin to a hell not even that monster from the upside down could attempt to put her through. She grimaced to herself as she stepped out of her car.

The only reason she had managed to get it fixed was all Hopper's idea. He ended up paying saying something about if the car ever broke down again she should go to him first, just so her mom doesn't have to worry about the money. Chief Hopper might have claimed that he didn't care about them. But after everything that happened last year, with Will. And Hopper having helped rescued her brother, she knew that he cared. Any other police officer would have shaken if off and give up at the first sign of trouble.

Any normal person would have just assumed Will was dead, and not believe her mother despite her constant attempts at convincing the officers she knew for a fact her son was alive. Even though he liked to act like he was some grouchy old man who didn't need anyone, he cared. And that was a lot different than the relationship she'd ever had with any other adult male figure in her life. Lonnie Byers only cared that she stayed sweet and quiet, his constant musings of saying she'd make a wonderful housewife one day.

His comments often left a bad taste in her louth as a kid. She hadn't realized why her mother had reacted so badly to it when she told her until she got older. Hopper's kindness, albeit not much was enough for her to trust him. He had helped find her brother after all. She still couldn't help but wonder what happened to Eleven, the superpowered young girl who had helped them open the portal to the dimension her brother was stuck in. Everything had started to turn relatively back to normal after everything that happened

But she can't help but feel a foreboding sense that this won't be the last time they'll have to face supernatural forces of some kind in their small town.

People often said that often it felt like Bianca Byers was in her own world. Teachers constantly wrote their reports on her saying she seemed distracted, unable to focus, out of it. Like she was truly in her own world stuck in her own thoughts until they suffocated her and swallowed her up whole. They hadn't described it as that exactly. But it might as well have been what they said. Many of them said she lacked an ability to pay attention and a willingness to participate in class activities.

She'd be way more comfortable with participating in class if she wouldn't get ridiculed for answering one question. At Hawkins high, being smart, or different wasn't cool. So by proxy, it meant Bianca would never ever be cool. And she was okay with that now. She wasn't before, but now she thinks she's okay with it. Being invisible is better than being laughed at, not taken seriously, being taken advantage of. She'd rather be invisible than have to deal with be ridiculed for the rest of her days in these miserable classrooms.

Once her favourite english teacher had pulled her aside from class and asked her if she was okay. Bianca never tried to submit such a personal writing piece ever again. Although that paper had managed to get her an A. She had noticed the sad looks her teacher had started to give her when her works started getting lower and lower grades. Until Bianca didn't care anymore, and didn't even make an effort to try. Most teachers chalked it up to her struggling during the time her brother was gone.

And it was true. But it wasn't just that. Sometimes for her it was easier to give then be disappointed later when something or someone disappoints you. She held onto the straps of her backpack slightly as she stepped through the entrance to enter the school. She slipped her walkman's headphones onto her head, hopefully people would get the message that she wasn't in the mood to talk.

Seems like nobody got that message as she felt a light tap on her shoulder as she waltzed in through the doors. She jumped slightly as she met face to face with Rowan Hopper, one of her best friends since last year. Rowan was one of those guys who'd probably be popular if he wanted, but he chose not to and insisted on hanging out with her a lot of the other outcasts in school. There was a high school hierarchy at play, and people like them were at the bottom of the triangle.

Honestly, Rowan wasn't a bad looking guy. He had dark brown windswept hair that resembled some model in one of those teen magazines that Nancy Wheeler used to read. Nancy had been her best friend of nine years, up until they started High school and suddenly Nancy decided that they shouldn't hang out anymore. It hurt Bianca badly, that for a few years she stopped making friends completely. It didn't seem worth it to her anymore.

After spending so much time with Nancy, and loosing a friendship she tried so hard to keep. At some point when Nancy kept blowing her off to go hang out with Barb, she stopped trying. She wasted so much of her love and attention to her and Nancy's friendship that she didn't know what to do anymore. She didn't have any other friends. And she just ditched her like she didn't even matter! She was right where she left her, and she had no choice but to stay there forever.

It had been a constant loop of her being alone. Sitting with the band kids at lunch, and not even trying when she was on the debate team. Nothing that she loved interested her anymore. She over talked to people when she had to. And it had been like that for a very long time. Up until Will's disappearance, that is.

Loosing Will felt like she was loosing her best friend all over again. Will and Jonathan were her entire world. She probably wouldn't still be alive if it wasn't for them. She would have killed herself ages ago. And it's funny, because it's true. No matter what she did. Bianca was always in the background. And then she met Rowan Hopper. Who was literally sunshine incarnate and, he gave her hope again. His stupid hazel eyes and his dark brown hair.

It was from then on, that she had a best friend again. Rowan was crazily smart, way smarter than her. He was figuring things out. He reminded her of Dustin Henderson in a way, it made sense why the two always got along. Rowan would come to help her out with watching over the kids while they were all trying to find Will. Instead, they had found Eleven. But that was a story for another day. They had basically been the babysitters for a super-powered girl and four other boys.

Maybe Rowan was smart because his dad was the chief, or maybe he was just like that. But she really did appreciate him.

Last year the two of them had become teen detectives and attempted to find out what happened to her brother. Eventually, them along with the kids had found Will's dead body. She had been inconsolable for days. Even the most popular kids in school felt sorry for her. For the first time ever, someone actually apologized to her.

She couldn't describe to you how mortified she was when two of the most popular girls in school told her she was sorry for her loss. Carol Perkins and Winnifred Van Dyne had actually apologized to her! What the hell? Winnie wasn't as bad as Heather. It often felt like Winnie was more of a second fiddle to Carol, who was one of the meanest girls in school. Apparently it had been Winnie's idea to approach her. It was a kind gesture that Bianca had appreciated, but Carol didn't make it easy.

Carol kept on going about how Will's death was her fault. She kept on going until some of the other popular kids in their group had to drag her away from the Byers girl. She just stood there, frozen in shook and staring down at her feet. Winnie gave her an apologetic look as she ran off back to her friends. Steve Harrington, the king of Hawkins High seemed to shrug off what Carol had done to her when the other popular kids had up in the hallways. 

Ever since then, Bianca's irrevocably hated Steve Harrington. For stealing her best friend and being everything she hated about this world. An asshole and a bully. She never told anyone about the bullying from Carol. It had continued, even to this year. But she didn't dare to tell anyone. She knew what Carol could do to her if she said anything. Another friend of hers she made this year, Parker Winston had insisted they tell the principal.

But she knew better than that. The school would never hurt their "golden children" and no matter what happened. People like them would always, always be outcasts. She would give anything to be popular. They're solid teflon, never bothered, never harassed. She would give anything to be like that. Bianca believes that she's a good person. She used to believe that there's good in everyone. That maybe someday they can go back to when they were all so tiny, happy and shiny.

But now, she found that hard to believe. High School was the modern equivalent of hell to her. And the only things that made it bearable were the only four people who could tolerate her in this school. She grimaced slightly as she felt Rowan slightly shake her shoulder, interrupting her distracting thoughts. She sighed in relief once she realized it was just Rowan. "Oh, thank god it's you." She sighed in relief as she stared into his familiar hazel eyes.

She smiled a little. "I don't know what I would have done if it was another football guy trying to steal my headset off me." She grimaced slightly at the memory as she slid her headphones down to her neck. Rowan wrapped her arm around her as they walked down to their homeroom class together. "I seriously don't like those guys." He muttered with a shake of his head. "What were you listening to today?" He asked her with a smile.

She shrugged, sitting down at her desk as she set her bag down on the floor. "Just some Stevie Nicks again. Listen to anything new on the radio this morning?" She asked him absentmindedly. Rowan made a slight grimace. "Nothing good, really." He shrugged. The boy usually had an arm wrapped around her as a precaution in the hallways. They had made up plans on how to efficiently get through a hallway without being caught by people they didn't want to see.

It was like a video game in a way. They had to do more than survive, avoid the crowds and popular kids as much as they can. They could only do that if they kept close to each other. Their strategy at least got people to leave them alone. It worked pretty well for them, so it had been their routine for a while ever since Will came back. Usually it was easier for them to get harassed when they were alone. So they always tried to stay in a group either together or with her twin brother.

Delaney Renegade was one third of one of the four people who made her time at Hawkins High tolerable. She was probably the first girl who she had ever had as a friend other than Nancy. People thought of the dark skinned girl as annoying and loud. But Bianca loved her to pieces. They were complete opposites but got along so well. She and Jonathan mostly had to get her to settle down though whenever it came to the popular kids.

Neither of them wanted to be picked on anymore. No matter how much they all wanted to rebel against them. Usually her, Rowan and Jonathan did their best to reign Delaney in whenever she got too fired up. Jonathan was better at it than the two of them, but Bianca had her suspicions that her twin and Delaney had a special relationship. But she wouldn't say it out loud, at least not until one of them realized it.

Delaney sat in the desk left beside Bianca, while Jonathan was to her right. And Rowan was right in front of her. It made it easier to pass notes in class to each other and comment on whatever joke their homeroom teacher, Mr. Anderson had to say today. Mr. Anderson was one of the only teachers in the entire school that she actually liked. He was also their english teacher, the same one who had been worried about her for her writing.

She insisted to the man that she'd be fine. But he always handled the four of them more delicately than the other students. If he had to have any favourite students, it might as well be the four of them. He was kind to her and Jonathan, and had been their homeroom teacher for a couple of years. And he was.. nice. He reminded her of Mr. Clarke who had been her favourite teacher in elementary, and now was Will's teacher.

There weren't many good teachers to come by in Hawkins. So she appreciated the man. As more and more students filed in the room, she began to tune everything out. She smiled at she watched Delaney enter the classroom with Jonathan. Then a few seconds later Nancy Wheeler entered. Bianca avoided looking at her and opted to talk to Delaney about whatever thing had interested her in the moment.

The classroom came to a silence as Mr. Anderson walked into the room and started the lesson.

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Bianca had managed to tune out nearly the entire class, except the lesson of the day. It was pretty simply, all they had to do was write an essay about their analysis of Carrie. A book that most of the popular kids in their class had made fun of for the main character being the way she was. Mr. Anderson sent some of them to the principals office, but he knew better that none of them would come back to class and end up skipping.

So he just let them go while the rest of the class complained about their essay. As soon as class was over Bianca immediately stood up. Grasping her backpack in hand as she tried to usher the rest of the class forwards so they could get out. Rowan and Delaney were right next to her, having a debate on whether or not Gwen Stacy or Mary-Jane were a better love interest for Peter Parker.

Delaney shook her head at Rowan. "First of all." She said to her friend pointedly. "If Gwen has survived they would have stayed together." Rowan laughed and shook his head. "I don't think so. Gwen and Peter would have gotten in arguments when she found out he was Spider-Man." He insisted with a shake of his head. Delaney gasped dramatically. "No she would not!" She insisted.

Rowan shook his head at the dark skinned again. Mr. Anderson gave them amused looks from his desk. Bianca laughed softly. Personally, she was on Gwen Stacy's side. But Rowan's opinions on why MJ made more sense were interesting to her too. Rowan chuckled. "Peter unintentionally killed Captain Stacy as Spider-Man. If Gwen had survived she wouldn't have forgiven him!" He said smugly as he fixed his jacket.

Delaney gasped. "Nuh uh!" She insisted. "Uh huh." Rowan said back, a smug look on his face. "Nuh uh." Delaney said again loudly. "Uh huh." Rowan said again. Jonathan groaned in annoyance. "Please, stop." He complained. "No!" The two of them yelled in unison while Bianca attempted to stop herself from laughing. "Gwen and Peter loved each other! They would have gotten through it." Delaney insisted.

Occasionally Jonathan cut in with something about Liz Allan, but Rowan and Delaney complained that her relationship with Peter wasn't technically canon. They kept debating until the class got into a single file like to get out of the classroom. Bianca preferred if this went a lot faster. On account of Tina Reynolds being at the front of the classroom handing out leaflets, she was sure this was gonna take longer than expected.

At the front of their homeroom. Tina, another popular girl was giving out leaflets for her Halloween party she was hosting tomorrow night. Bianca would rather die than go to that party. She never liked alcohol or anything that surrounded it, ever since her father. So she avoided that kind of thing completely. Rowan and Delaney were in front of her in the line. But they didn't receive a leaflet from Tina.

She could see Delaney scowl slightly as she glared at Tina on their way out. Rowan sighed deeply and patted their friend on the shoulder as they walked away to their lockers. Bianca sighed deeply as she walked through the door, only to be met with a dismissive look by Tina who pointedly didn't hand her leaflet. Behind her, Nancy was handed a leaflet by the dark haired girl. "Hi Nancy." Tina said to the girl with a smile.

Nancy smiled at Tina politely. "Hey! Thanks." She muttered excitedly as she stared at the leaflet. Nancy stopped for a second as Jonathan left the classroom at the same time she did and didn't get handed on. "Actually." Nancy looked over at Tina. "Could I get two more?" She asked. Bianca narrowed an eyebrow as she waited a few meters away for her twin brother, who looked equally as confused.

Tina nodded, assuming Nancy was inviting some of her other more popular friends. "Yeah, sure." She smiled at her. Jonathan turned back around to look at Nancy in confusion. The twins gave each other a look, he shrugged at her to go on without him. And she nodded. Nancy looked like she was about to go talk to her, until Bianca immediately turned away as fast as she possible could.

She took a deep breath in as she walked quickly to meet up with Delaney and Rowan at their lockers. The four of them had decided to get lockers close enough to each other, and far away enough from the popular kids so they didn't have to worry about seeing them wherever they were getting their things. She took a deep breath in slightly. Delaney and Rowan gave her confused looks. "What's wrong with you?" Delaney muttered, narrowing her eyebrow at her.

Bianca grimaced. "I just saw Nancy. She was trying to talk to Jonathan." She winced slightly. Her twin and Nancy had gotten closer ever since last year, but Bianca hadn't thought that they'd make a thing out of it! Clearly Jonathan didn't realize this and only saw her as a friend. Or at least she hoped. Rowan looked worried. "Uh oh." Delaney stared at her in confusion. Her eyes wide. "What do you mean uh oh??" She said loudly in confusion.

Rowan blinked. "Well... they've been getting an awful lot close lately haven't they?" He sounded slightly nervous. Bianca swore she could see Delaney's eye twitch. "What?" She muttered, sounding clearly jealous. Bianca frowned. "Oh god, you don't think she's trying to take Jonathan away from us don't you?" She asked. Rowan frowned. "I don't know. But there are rumours." He shrugged slightly.

Delaney stared at her in disbelief. "What rumours? I haven't heard any rumours!" She exclaimed, shutting her locker door shut loudly. Bianca carefully set her backpack into her locker as she pried out her books for their last class. Later today Will would be back at Dr. Owens again. Last time she had been there with him, but her mom insisted that this time she stayed in class.

She was worried that if Bianca missed enough classes she'd start falling behind. But all Bianca wanted was to make sure her brother was safe. But she promised her mom she'd do better this year. There are a lot of reasons why she doesn't like school. She missed nearly every class last year but only managed to pass on sheer dumb luck and Jonathan giving her the homework she missed.

Rowan attempted to open his locker. "Well.. I heard from Robin Buckley, one of the band kids who heard from Heather Holloway that there's trouble in paradise for Little Miss Perfect and the King of Hawkins High." He said dramatically. Bianca blinked in confusion. "What do you mean? They seem as gross as always." She rolled her eyes slightly, it was pretty clear since they were always together.

Delaney nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they seem fine.." She shrugged. Rowan shook his head. "Things aren't how they always seem? Y'know. Like, how do we know they're not in a bad place right now." Delaney looked nervous. "I don't know." She didn't seem to like the idea that they could be wrong. Bianca sighed. "I don't think that gossip is very reliable." She shrugged slightly. "So let's just keep take with a grain of salt." She grounded her friends to reality slightly.

There was no way in hell that Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington would break up. They were practically Hawkins royalty at this point. Their relationship seemed to be going as well as any could. They'd probably go through the whole highschool sweethearts thing and end up with two or so kids in some white picket fence and a marriage. Bianca didn't even realize that she had been clenching her fists until her two friends stared at her in confusion.

Rowan and Delaney exchanged an unsure look. "Bi, you okay?" Rowan muttered softly, his eyes crinkling with that specific look in his eyes that he would only give her when she was upset. Pity. It was pity. She could tell. No one needed to say it. But it was pity. He pitied her. And she wouldn't say anything, but they both knew. Rowan always handled her with a sort of care the others didn't have. A care that just... didn't make sense to her. She frowned at the thought.

Bianca shook her head. "I'm fine." She insisted, fishing her chemistry books out of her locker. "Seriously. Guys, I'm fine." Delaney nodded slightly, not needing anymore assurance. But Rowan looked at her again, with the same specific expression on his face that she felt scrutinized by. She grimaced slightly. "Let's get to class." She said with a long sigh as she caught Nancy and Steve Harrington kissing by her locker while Jonathan walked away in awkward silence.

She could see Jonathan grimacing slightly as he awkwardly walked away from the scene. If Bianca had been in his shoes she would have been livid. But Jonathan wasn't like that, where his twin was quick to anger. Jonathan wasn't. Bianca had this kind of boiling anger that festered underneath her soul that would attempt to swallow her up whole if it wasn't for her twin. Neither of them could exist without the other. Jonathan held in anger, while Bianca pushed it all away until she hits her breaking point and blows up.

She cleared her throat as she turned her attention back to her two friends.

Her two friends nodded in agreement at that. "We should get to class now. Before the popular kids steal the best seats." Rowan muttered as Bianca closed her locker shut. Delaney nodded slightly. "Yeah." That was one thing they could agree on at least. As long as she had her friends, maybe she'd get through the year without being too miserable.

█⠀⠀⠀. ˚◞♡ ⃗ *ೃ༄ RAI SPEAKS!! . . .
              ◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡     Words 4861

I loved writing this chapter sm. Bianca, Jonathan, Rowan and Delaney my beloveds <33 You will always be famous. This was a shorter chapter but I wanted to get this one out today! I introduced our main characters and the start of the first ep! Delaney is my pookie Emmy's oc whom I love very much. The four of them are basically the party but if they were teenagers and anti-social. Other than Delaney who is a menace lmao. But I forgive her dw.

This was a fun chapter to write. Will and Bianca Byers you will always be famous. My two favourite siblings. Next chapter will have more Byers siblings bonding and Halloween. Oooh, I hope you're all excited.