╭                                                                 ╮
━━━━ " 📂  "

𝙋 𝘼 𝙍 𝘼 𝘿 𝙄 𝙎 𝙀

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IT WAS THE SECOND TIME in a week that Steve was picking Sadie up from the community pool. Saturday had passed and he had picked her up in the evening so they could eat takeout on the hood of his car halfway up a hill outside of Hawkins, and despite the copious amount of time the couple spent together that verged on the question of serious attachment issues, they had ended up sleeping in their own rooms that night. When Sunday came, he woke up to a call saying that it had been decided that Sadie would be spending the day with a couple of girls from school.

They were going swimming in a secret spot that Tina had found, and she was dragging Sadie, Vicki and Chrissy with her. It had been planned late last evening, as the Henderson mentioned on the call and although half-asleep, Steve listened with a smile as she professed her apologies for cancelling any meeting they might have that day before spewing her agreement with spending time apart and whatever scientific study she had recently read about (and he remembered reading it over her shoulder) about how spending too much time with one person was particularly detrimental.

Then Monday came and he had work again and whilst usually, Sadie would be just across the food court with Eric or Chance (which wasn't a friendly thought), she was instead looking after Holly again. Mrs Wheeler, despite her love for her children, had discovered a new sense of relaxation - because really, despite her hours lounging by the pool amongst her friends whilst Holly played, there admittedly wasn't a lot of calm once the lifeguard shifts changed - in her freedom, and escaped to complete errands and spend some time to herself once again.

Sadie, however, would be spending her day of supposed tranquillity at the pool, being dropped off with Holly in the morning and spending the day there. She saved a lounger with her towel and bag and alternated between taking Holly in the big pool and teaching her how to properly swim and sitting on the lounger and reading as Holly spent time in the kiddie pool. That was when she usually saw Billy, who had avoided her for a couple months following the events of November before settling down in a habit that would no doubt annoy people to no end - he would flirt with her and act as it never happened.

But she could manage it, and Steve knew that, because she could manage most things that others couldn't and almost always kept an open mind.

Mrs Wheeler picked Holly up on her way back home, Steve had arrived a little later and watched as the two girls had stood up from their spot waiting on the grass - it looked like Holly had been armed with the two Barbie dolls from two Christmases ago and Sadie walked her over to the car. Karen and Sadie talked briefly as the latter clipped Holly into her seat.

Moments later and Sadie was pointing out his car, Steve catching her eye as he leant against the door. His hand raised in a wave and a few more words were exchanged between the two before Sadie was crossing the parking lot to him.

"You look pretty," Steve called as she practically skipped over the last row of cars, his arm stretched out to wrap around her shoulders and tuck her into his side. He wasn't even lying - she always looked pretty, but particularly so with a t-shirt draped over her swimsuit and a pair of cutoff shorts pulled up over the bottoms. Her hair was pulled back, damp from only being quickly washed with water - shower time was limited with the busyness of the community pool - and she seemed to glow after sitting the sun for most of the day.

"I'm covered in chlorine." Sadie hummed her response but didn't really argue, feeling a kiss pressed to the top of her head. "How's Robin?"

"Missed you today."

"Of course she did, what did you expect?" Sadie blinked, before ducking under his arm and the two of them climbed in the car. "Robin loves me, I'm her favourite employee."

"You don't even work at Scoops." Steve settled back in his seat. "Not for my lack of trying though."

"If we worked together nothing would get done." Sadie said, most honestly. She caught his eyes. "It would be fun, but nothing would get done." She added on, correcting herself. Settling in the familiar leather seats, her gaze
grazed over the baseball bat key chain hanging from the overhead mirror, the polaroid resting in one of the console compartments by his lighter and a pack of smokes, the strip of photo booth settled by the gear stick that was one of two and depicted several photos taken hastily during a break - one kissing, one with her trying to sort out his hat and him watching her most intently, one when the kiss had gone way too far to say their only mode of privacy was a curtain that hardly covered a booth and his hands had pulled her shirt up around her waist, and the final one where they both had their shirts pulled up, laughing.

He had a lot of photos of her now, taken obsessively since the Snow Ball last December, but that seemed to be his favourite. She admired the photo strip a little longer as he chose the music; it had seemed impossible before, because they were too concerned with saving the world, but he looked at her like that a lot.

"Alright, sailor." Sadie averted her eyes from the pictures as The Romantics began to play through the radio, her boyfriend shaking his head at the nickname, "What's the plans for tonight?"

"Plans?" Steve repeated. "What plans?"

"I know you have plans."

"I don't have any plans. I'm just picking you up on my way back from work."

"Your shift ended an hour ago."

"You know too much." Steve feigned offence, shaking his head as he pulled out onto the road. "And still, I don't have any plans, Henderson. 'm just gonna drop you off home and you're free to do as you please."

"Steve?"

There was a tone to her voice that worried him and he looked over, awaiting an answer. "Yeah?" He asked.

"We just past the road to my house." Sadie pointed out, grinning as his nose wrinkled. She didn't say anything else when he smiled, settling back in her seat and deciding against pushing for answers. Instead, she just pulled her book from her bag and found the page she was last on, settling into the drive with her knees curled up to her chest and Steve singing in her ear.

✧

He had taken her to Lovers Lake, a place in Hawkins far too often populated with the percentage of teenagers that lived there, a chosen favourite of Sadie and Steve throughout that summer. The water was nice enough to swim in and although there were cabins and homes along one side, there was the banking opposite that provided a few corners to hide away in - especially useful in the summer.

Sadie knew Steve preferred Skull Rock - there had been a discussion when he hastened to inform her that it was only because he had given it its 'mojo' and not because he had taken several girls there to make out with - for its privacy and other reasons, so it seemed a little extra nice of him to drive them there without a mention and when he brought his car to a stop, Sadie had a smile on her face that couldn't be beaten and Steve knew exactly why he hasn't insisted on going elsewhere.

They set up in their usual space; a few feet away from the edge of the lake and shadowed by trees, hidden by old tree trunks left to rot after falling in storms over the year.  A blanket was laid over the grass, a small bag of food and music playing from Steve's car a few feet away from where they sat and above them, the sun began to set.

It was pretty, a purple-peach glaze settling over the sky and illuminated clouds, reflected in the water in front of them and Steve, who had insisted she didn't watch as he set up, was now observing as Sadie walked along the edge of the lake, her old, scuffed sneakers discarded by the blanket and her feet bare with water lapping around her ankles. The warm breeze pulled at her hair, her usual contacts replaced by her glasses for once.

He hardly even knew that she wore contacts until Christmas. His parents were out of town as usual, visiting his uncle and aunts out of state that he wasn't allowed to see on account of the visit meaning he would miss school and Sadie had offered for him to join herself, Claudia and Dustin. By him accepting this, it had led to him joining not only the Hendersons, but also the Sinclairs, Byers and unsurprisingly, the Wheelers, on Christmas Eve, which had ended with Sadie disappearing to drop Max and Susan off home (Susan had had a bit too much to drink) and reappearing with glasses.

Glasses.

Steve had loved them, smiled when he pulled them from the bridge of her nose and tried them on, listening to her laugh as he proclaimed her blind, hearing her mom complain how she doesn't use them as she should and how she spent money on them only for Sadie to spend her evenings in dim light squinting at the text of her book. She had worn them a lot more after that,

And he thoroughly enjoyed every moment, after Steve stacked the boxes of pizza he had bought minutes before he picked her up his eyes landed on her, smiling when he saw the bliss of slowly-cooling senses taking over her. "Don't look too happy without me." He quipped, watching as her gaze was drawn after from the twinkling water and she smiled at him, making her way over.

Barefooted and hair bleached from the sun, pulled back from her eyes, Sadie settled down on the blanket, legs stretched out in front of her. "Something smells good." She commented, eyeing the familiar pizza boxes. "How did you get it?"

"One half mozzarella, half pepperoni." Steve began, pushing the first box open and settling it between her. "The other with everything on. The Henderson way."

"I'm so glad that's what my name is going to be known for." Sadie completely disregards the other pizza in favour of the rather colourfully-topped slice. "Ew - olive." She picked it off and held it his way, the grimace still staying on her face as he ate it.

"I don't get why you don't just order it with everything but the olives."

"It has an essence, Harrington." Sadie retorted, smile returning as she took a bite. "Oh yeah, this is better than any asteroid or some stupid shit."

"That's what you want to name after yourself? An asteroid?"

"I can't exactly wait for another creature to climb out of the Upside Down like Dustin did." Sadie shook her head. Steve shook his head. "Although a frog would be pretty cool. They find tons of them a year I'm sure I could find another."

"Maybe, you know, after the NDAs expire, you should publish findings on the Upside Down." Steve suggested, before pausing and beginning to backtrack. "I know it's stupid and you would get killed or something but... I don't know, I figure you should be known for something as big as an alternate dimension, and not just a floating stone."

"Depends on what kind of asteroid you're thinking of." Sadie interjected but was quick to see his expression. "You're right, I'm sorry, I'll take the compliment. It was sweet."

"God, now I'm sweet?"

"Oh yeah, you're a sap." Sadie confirmed without a beat. Steve looked mildly offended. "Come on, you cried at E.T."

"You cried at E.T.!"

"And Annie. And that scene in The Neverending story."

"The horse drowned, Sadie, have some compassion." Steve tutted, shaking his head at her words. "Besides, I might cry at several movies, most of which are definitely made for children, but at least I can watch horror films."

"Don't lie. You can't even watch Jaws."

"I can so watch Jaws. What about you and the whole Amityville Horror thing." Steve pulled a hand through his hair, standing up amidst their conversation, retrieving the drinks he had forgotten. "Lukewarm beer or lukewarm Coke?"

"Is it the new stuff?" Sadie asked. Steve nodded. "Beer, please."

He set down the two cans, knowing he shouldn't have even bothered asking, glad that he had left the soda in his car. Sitting back down, he didn't wait for her to open her own and did it for her as she ate her pizza, on her second slice already. "Back to Amityville?" He asked.

"Mhm, yes." Sadie sat up, finger jabbing accusatorily in his direction. "That is scary because it's a true story! I read the book, I've read the articles, all before the film came out and then I watched the film and it was way too real. Besides, it hits way too close to home."

"Shit, yeah." Steve nodded. "That house on Morehead, right?"

"Yeah, the Creels." Sadie looked slightly pale. "I know way too much about that to talk about that as well."

"So you can do the Upside Down, but you can't do real-life shit?" Steve rose an eyebrow.

Sadie took a sip of her beer and flicked a stray piece of pepperoni at him. "Shut up, you cry at E.T."

✧

The sun still hadn't fully gone down by the time Steve had driven Sadie back home. The Henderson house was a welcoming sight to them now, silhouetted in the very remnants of the sun on the horizon. Tews was napping on the roof in the last of the warmth, stretching upwards when she heard the rumble of Steve's car pull into the driveway.

Claudia's car was under the cover, evidently inside after her own shift at work. Dustin, however, wouldn't be back until Saturday from Camp Know Where and it would only be the mother and daughter until Thursday, when Mrs Henderson would be taking some time off to go and visit her parents and pick Dustin up on Saturday.

Until Thursday, Sadie's company wouldn't just be her boyfriend and, should she want to invite him in for the evening, he wouldn't have to worry about Claudia's constant interruptions of their conversation. It was nothing against the woman, in fact, Steve was sure he could consider her closer family than any of his own, but it just wasn't what was needed.

"You working tomorrow?" Steve asked, pushing his door closed as she got up from her seat, the bag filled with her swimsuit, towel and various other bits swinging from her shoulder as she turned towards him.

"Yeah." Sadie confirmed, smiling as she felt his arms wrap around her waist, hands slipping into the back pockets of her shorts and pulling her tight to him. "Wednesday too. I'm babysitting Wednesday night as well."

"You are? Holly again?"

"No, no, the Chief's working overnight and you know how he is about El being out when he's not available to come get her." Sadie replied. "So everyone decided to have a sleepover at his cabin instead, and I'll be babysitting."

"Everyone?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna pick them up an R-rated movie or two, several pints of ice cream, whipped cream, cookie dough and make sundaes and eat a shit ton of pizza." Sadie grinned.

"How you getting that movie?" Steve pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as they slipped slightly.

"Well, I was wondering..." She hummed as she met his eyes, gaze breaking as she watched a smirk pull on the corner of his lips.

"You were, were you?" Steve easily kissed her, head dipping down to meet hers. She tasted like bubblegum and the cigarette that had been hanging from between her fingers on the drive back home. His hand met the curve of her waist, her felt hers on the back of his neck before he felt her frown and pull away. "What?" He asked, voice quiet.

But Sadie wasn't looking at him; her head was turned upwards towards the orange stained sky. Passing over them, fairly low, was an airplane. It seemed to be a crop duster but on the larger side and she stepped away from him as she followed it with her eyes.

"Huh." Sadie looked confused. "The flight paths didn't say there would be anything flying over." She turned away from the house, continuing to follow the plane. "It's way too late to be a personal... didn't look entirely American either - did you see the writing on the side, it was entirely symbols. Looked... Russian maybe, if I'm-"

"Sadie." Steve interrupted her train of thought, far too aware of where this must be going. She stopped and looked at him, the focused tension on her brow diffusing.

"Steve." She replied.

"How many seconds did you look at that airplane?" He asked.

"Two, three, maybe?"

"Exactly."

"You're right." Sadie nodded, very much aware of how obsessive her research into that might have become in such a small time. "Yeah. Thanks."

"I already told you not to thank me, dingus." Steve shook his head, hands running over her waist and fingers bending into the belt loops of her shorts.

"'Dingus'." Sadie repeated. She looked mildly amused. "Robin's rubbing off on you."

Steve made a face, still somewhat indifferent to his co-worker. "We'll go back to dickface, then." He said, watching as she nodded and pulled away, naturally dragging him with her as she did so. "But really, Henderson, don't worry about some random plane. It'll just be some... I don't know, some kid."

"Some kid?"

"Yeah, you know some kid whose just got his license and is definitely gonna get his ass beat when he lands the thing." Steve shrugged. "You know the type. I would've done that shit if I hadn't, you know, realised I wasn't that big of a douchebag."

"Because you know I wouldn't be here if you didn't." Sadie murmured. "But you know, I mean I wouldn't do that shit."

"What do you mean you wouldn't?" Steve turned towards her. "Can you fly planes?"

"Fuck no." Sadie laughed, smile wide enough to catch flies as she grinned at him. "You should see your face."

"Come on. You do all sorts of shit, I wouldn't be surprised if you were a Russian spy or something." Steve, caught out, turned half-pink in the porch light. "But I mean, you could learn."

"Probably, yeah. I already have a learner's manual somewhere." Her smile faded slightly, the circumstances of why she had it playing on her mind. "My grandpa got it for me - he and my dad used to love planes. Then there was 'nam and it fucked up a generation. I might still learn though."

"You should." Steve encouraged. "I'll be your first passenger."

"Maybe I will then." Sadie grinned up at him before glancing towards the door, hand reaching for the handle. "Night, Sailor."

He stared at her for a moment, eyes gentle in the glow of the lamp. The smile on his lips matched her's and it reached his gaze. In that moment, there was nothing much that could make him happier. "Night, Sadie." He replied, hands dug into his pockets before he leant to kiss her on the cheek, just close enough to her lips to count. Steve turned back towards his car, skipping down the stairs and slipped into the front seat.

Steve encouraged her in when he saw that she was waiting for him to go. Deciding against arguing, Sadie waved before pushing open the door, watching from within as he backed out of her driveway.

"How was Steve?" Claudia asked, absentmindedly from her chair. Sadie turned to see her with Tews again, eyes away from the TV. "And Holly? That's who you were babysitting today, right?"

"Steve's good. Sad he couldn't come in and say hi." Sadie replied, coming to sit on the edge of the footstool a short distance from the armchair. "And Holly's good too, enjoyed the pool. Mrs Wheeler mentioned something about you joining her and her group when they go together. You know, the one with Winnie Kline and Jill and Liz."

Personally, Sadie wouldn't ever be able to see the appeal of such a group, but she smiled and nodded as she listened to her mother agree to call Karen and arrange it. Claudia Henderson worked far too hard in order to support herself and her children to not be able to have a day off with some of her friends.

"I'll let Karen know when I next see her... it'll be quite nice to take an afternoon off at the pool. Speaking of," not one to stray from the idea of busyness, Claudia turned to her daughter. "Nancy called earlier. Asked you to ring back."

That was the problem with summer. That was the problem with internships and jobs and everything that could possibly keep you busy. Nobody was ever in the right place at the right time and, much to Sadie's dismay, this ensured that neither her nor Nancy ever got the chance to see each other much.

It would change in the fall though, because Nancy was no doubt going for editor of the newspaper and as Sadie was always looking to boost her applications she would be spending plenty of time writing articles, and by the time their senior year was over the two of them would have successfully led a year of the newspaper and curated the most beautiful yearbook. But that was neither here nor there, and most definitely not been planned several years prior when they were first starting high school and making plans for the future.

Sadie stood up and making her way towards the telephone. She dialled the familiar number, the advert for the new Coke playing in the background. The line rang, a couple of clinks and soon she was leaving a message

"Nance, hey." Sadie began. "We keep missing each other - er - if anyone else gets this can you pass it on - but anyways, I think we should try get lunch or dinner or something, and I know you're busy at the Post but I haven't seen you properly for ages and I miss you." She shook her head. "I sound like a sap, but the sentiment remains. Just call back and let me know - oh, and tell Jonathan I need my tape back as soon as possible."

A moment or so passed, and she hung up.