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[She shakes her head, teeth scraping at a thumbnail again before doing what she'd done the first time, just curling her fingers over it and letting her sleeve cover her hand] Not once. Obviously when I was younger it was the fear of going to hell for being a lying sinner that kept me in line, and by the time I realized that wasn't likely to happen?
[She shakes her head] By then I was already too old to start practicing, she'd definitely know, and now it's just not worth the firestorm that would follow, and the damage that it would cause anyone 'aiding in my delinquency'. [There's finger quotes, and a wrinkle of her nose, she's trying not to believe it, but it's not as easy as it should be.]
[It isn't really that foreign of a concept for Max. Billy had gone after Lucas and Steve, after all, and for similar reasons. Still. After Vecna, she doesn't have much fear of people anymore.]
Cheer practice went over time by about 45 minutes once, she called the police to report me as a missing person and the cheer coach as a potential kidnapper. [She shakes her head, grimacing faintly] Didn't bother to call the school first to see if we were still there, or even to come by, no, just straight to the police.
[She has to stop herself from gnawing on her thumbnail again] I almost had to finish out this year as homestudy, she wasn't going to let me go back, because of the 'criminal influence', but then dad reminded her it was my senior year and I should get to enjoy it with everyone else.
[She grimaces. She also doubts Hopper had been very happy to get that particular call.]
Okay well we definitely don't want you stuck doing home schooling for the rest of the year. [But frankly the rest of the year wasn't much longer. They'd just have to help her get through it til she could get out of her mom's house.]
It's only a few more weeks, right? [It's what she's been telling herself since spring break, eventful as it was, ended.]
After that we'll see what happens. [She knows she's not about to follow her mother's plan, but knowing what she knows now, she isn't sure she can follow through on her own plan to just buy a bus ticket to Chicago as soon as she turns 18, or after that, just as soon as she graduates.]
Well that is true. [She agrees with an almost-solemn nod, managing to keep her expression toned down, though there's amusement in her eyes]
Really I think the hardest part is going to be convincing Steve to let us use his back yard for a range, and I don't think that's going to be so terribly difficult. [She knows where her mom stashes things in the garage, so if her archery kit isn't there, it means it's gone for good, and then it's just a case of cashing in favors her brother owes, which might be tricky, but so is everything these days.]
[Her brows both lift, because there's no mistaking that confidence] Really? You've got that much pull?
[There's definitely amusement in the question, though no small amount of genuine curiosity also, because while she's reasonably sure she could convince him, given half a chance, if Max is that sure, she's not going to butt in.]
[Because she's genuinely curious. She's heard some stories from the others, but never really dwelt on it because she hadn't known him then. But she does now. And Steve has -- become somewhat of an older brother figure for her, in the way Billy never wanted to be.]
[She just smiles, shaking her head again] When I say 'kind of friends' I mean our families were friends, or were civil to each other anyway. At the time I was the annoying little kid he had to keep company to keep our parents happy.
[Another head shake] And I don't really know what happened, but when he was starting high school and I was still in middle school, something changed and he became a twerp, and the Harringtons weren't welcome at my parents' parties anymore. I always kind of thought that was the reason.
[She knows the rumors now, and even at the time she'd known that her mother was a judgmental bitch, but it wasn't until Chrissy was in high school herself that her mother gave her any specific warnings about staying away from Steve. Though she has no reason to do so now. Didn't really then, either.]
Oh. [Right. It was kind of like a super exclusive club that Chrissy and Steve's families had been in. Maybe were still in. Except she knows that Chrissy's mom, at least, is awful, and she's not sure Steve's parents actually reside in Hawkins at this point. As long as she's been around, she's never seen or met them, and Steve never talks about them, which, she gets. When you have a terrible family sometimes it's just easier not to talk about it. It's not like anyone can really save you from your life.]
I mean. I heard stories about his twerp days, but. I guess he outgrew that.
He did, apparently getting punched in the face just once, real good, was enough to put him back to rights.
[She shakes her head, looking down at her hands for a moment] I shouldn't say things like that, it's rude. He probably had his reasons, and it wasn't like he was a saint in middle school, either. Though he definitely wasn't as bad as some of them.
Who'd have thought a punch to the face could snap someone back into being a human with emotions? [She's met a few that she might like to test that theory on...]
I mean. I think that's boys in general at that age. They're all idiots.
[Her brow creases a little] Is Lucas... doing okay? After everything?
[She hadn't really gotten to know him that well before everything had fallen apart, but he'd seemed like a good kid.] He always... well, I barely got to know him, but he seemed better than Jason and the rest of them, not at basketball, but just, you know, as a person. I always felt like they were going to drag him down somehow.
[Her smile slips now, into something more troubled.]
No. Not really. He's -- not sleeping much? [And the way he looks at her every time they have to part ways is -- gutting, actually. Like he's afraid he'll never see her again.]
I'm not sure he's even processed the stuff with Jason and the others, honestly.
[She just nods, considering the answer, gnawing briefly at the edge of her thumbnail again before deliberately stopping herself as she'd done before.] Are any of us really sleeping that much these days?
[She knows she isn't, and she doubts she's the only one. But she's not going to say as much, not when she's successfully deflected the conversation from herself again.] Maybe he'll get lucky and won't have to.
[Does she actually think such a thing is possible or even likely? Not really, but a lot of hope goes a long way in her experience.]
[She definitely hasn't been sleeping well. She's pretty sure she's not going to sleep well again for a long, long time. But she's a bit of a pessimist.]
[She does look a little sheepish, tucking her hair behind her ear with one quick little movement before folding her hands into her sleeves again] Well now that I've succeeded in just bringing us both down, we should think of a backup plan in case this one falls apart somewhere.
It's fine. It's...honest. [She shrugs. She's not the best at doing the whole emotions thing with people, but sometimes it feels a little easier with Chrissy. Eddie, too, for that matter.]
You mean if Steve's place falls through? [She considers.] Well. There's a lot of old abandoned buildings we could use if we needed to set up to practice.
[Probably not the woods, because that seems like it's just setting up for potentially horrible accidents.]
More like if everything falls through, if I can't find my kit, and if my brother can't get a new set, and if Steve can't let us use his place. [She gives a little shake of her head] I don't think that will happen, but it's always good to have a backup plan, just in case.
[It's not that she's a particularly anxious person, though that's definitely part of it, it's more that she's had to change plans at the last minute before, on more than one occasion.]
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cheerybomb
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Date: 2023-03-19 04:47 am (UTC)[She shakes her head] By then I was already too old to start practicing, she'd definitely know, and now it's just not worth the firestorm that would follow, and the damage that it would cause anyone 'aiding in my delinquency'. [There's finger quotes, and a wrinkle of her nose, she's trying not to believe it, but it's not as easy as it should be.]
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Date: 2023-03-25 06:07 pm (UTC)[It isn't really that foreign of a concept for Max. Billy had gone after Lucas and Steve, after all, and for similar reasons. Still. After Vecna, she doesn't have much fear of people anymore.]
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Date: 2023-03-26 12:19 am (UTC)[She has to stop herself from gnawing on her thumbnail again] I almost had to finish out this year as homestudy, she wasn't going to let me go back, because of the 'criminal influence', but then dad reminded her it was my senior year and I should get to enjoy it with everyone else.
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Date: 2023-03-26 12:57 am (UTC)[She grimaces. She also doubts Hopper had been very happy to get that particular call.]
Okay well we definitely don't want you stuck doing home schooling for the rest of the year. [But frankly the rest of the year wasn't much longer. They'd just have to help her get through it til she could get out of her mom's house.]
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Date: 2023-03-26 03:39 pm (UTC)After that we'll see what happens. [She knows she's not about to follow her mother's plan, but knowing what she knows now, she isn't sure she can follow through on her own plan to just buy a bus ticket to Chicago as soon as she turns 18, or after that, just as soon as she graduates.]
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Date: 2023-03-26 07:12 pm (UTC)[She hesitates for a moment, considering.]
But...plans are good. And it helps give you something to look forward to.
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Date: 2023-03-28 01:45 am (UTC)Really I think the hardest part is going to be convincing Steve to let us use his back yard for a range, and I don't think that's going to be so terribly difficult. [She knows where her mom stashes things in the garage, so if her archery kit isn't there, it means it's gone for good, and then it's just a case of cashing in favors her brother owes, which might be tricky, but so is everything these days.]
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Date: 2023-03-28 03:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-03-29 01:08 am (UTC)[There's definitely amusement in the question, though no small amount of genuine curiosity also, because while she's reasonably sure she could convince him, given half a chance, if Max is that sure, she's not going to butt in.]
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Date: 2023-03-29 01:45 am (UTC)I mean, yeah, kinda? [And if he still won't give in, she'll sic Dustin on him.]
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Date: 2023-03-29 08:08 am (UTC)[A small smile, shaking her head] Honestly I don't know if he even remembers me, except because of, well you know, everything that happened.
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Date: 2023-03-29 08:44 pm (UTC)[Because she's genuinely curious. She's heard some stories from the others, but never really dwelt on it because she hadn't known him then. But she does now. And Steve has -- become somewhat of an older brother figure for her, in the way Billy never wanted to be.]
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Date: 2023-03-30 03:01 am (UTC)[Another head shake] And I don't really know what happened, but when he was starting high school and I was still in middle school, something changed and he became a twerp, and the Harringtons weren't welcome at my parents' parties anymore. I always kind of thought that was the reason.
[She knows the rumors now, and even at the time she'd known that her mother was a judgmental bitch, but it wasn't until Chrissy was in high school herself that her mother gave her any specific warnings about staying away from Steve. Though she has no reason to do so now. Didn't really then, either.]
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Date: 2023-04-01 03:58 am (UTC)I mean. I heard stories about his twerp days, but. I guess he outgrew that.
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Date: 2023-04-02 05:14 am (UTC)[She shakes her head, looking down at her hands for a moment] I shouldn't say things like that, it's rude. He probably had his reasons, and it wasn't like he was a saint in middle school, either. Though he definitely wasn't as bad as some of them.
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Date: 2023-04-02 06:37 pm (UTC)I mean. I think that's boys in general at that age. They're all idiots.
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Date: 2023-04-04 05:26 am (UTC)[A little shake of her head, a small smile caught at the corner of her mouth] But I guess we won't know for sure for a few years.
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Date: 2023-04-04 09:46 pm (UTC)[She kinda doubts they outgrow it at all. Max is grinning.]
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Date: 2023-04-05 06:04 am (UTC)[She hadn't really gotten to know him that well before everything had fallen apart, but he'd seemed like a good kid.] He always... well, I barely got to know him, but he seemed better than Jason and the rest of them, not at basketball, but just, you know, as a person. I always felt like they were going to drag him down somehow.
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Date: 2023-04-07 08:39 pm (UTC)No. Not really. He's -- not sleeping much? [And the way he looks at her every time they have to part ways is -- gutting, actually. Like he's afraid he'll never see her again.]
I'm not sure he's even processed the stuff with Jason and the others, honestly.
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Date: 2023-04-08 06:53 am (UTC)[She knows she isn't, and she doubts she's the only one. But she's not going to say as much, not when she's successfully deflected the conversation from herself again.] Maybe he'll get lucky and won't have to.
[Does she actually think such a thing is possible or even likely? Not really, but a lot of hope goes a long way in her experience.]
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Date: 2023-04-09 03:10 am (UTC)[She definitely hasn't been sleeping well. She's pretty sure she's not going to sleep well again for a long, long time. But she's a bit of a pessimist.]
Yeah, maybe.
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Date: 2023-04-09 05:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-09 08:12 pm (UTC)You mean if Steve's place falls through? [She considers.] Well. There's a lot of old abandoned buildings we could use if we needed to set up to practice.
[Probably not the woods, because that seems like it's just setting up for potentially horrible accidents.]
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Date: 2023-04-11 04:48 am (UTC)[It's not that she's a particularly anxious person, though that's definitely part of it, it's more that she's had to change plans at the last minute before, on more than one occasion.]
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