511. so it mine el

511 / so it mine elSpring of 1989

Lucy had been to the Hawkins baseball fields once in her childhood, when she was ten and Leo was seven and he got really into T-ball. Their parents signed him up for the mini league and readied him with all the supplies—jerseys, lightweight bat, a customized baseball cap with his team mascot on it (the lions). Then he'd gotten up to the plate at his first game and decided in the moment that he didn't like T-ball; he'd been thinking about playing basketball, but got the names of the sports confused. For a kid as smart as Leo, he sure was dumb as rocks sometimes. But they still took him out after his first "game" and got ice cream, together as a whole family.

It had been before Rich and Deb were driven apart by financial issues, divisions of their faithfulness, broken feelings and hearts. In fact it was the last time Lucy can remember their whole family being together before Deb and Rich began to fall into disrepair, divorcing after five years of hell for the whole family.

Lucy frowned. It was supposed to be a happy memory, sitting in the bleachers at the baseball fields again, but instead Lucy's thoughts drifted to her parents. Well, she couldn't say she was surprised; she had been thinking about them a lot recently anyway—

She was saved from her thoughts as the sound of a familiar voice filled her ears, though quiet and tinny. Lucy smiled to herself and pulled the headphones up from her neck and placed them over her head, letting Robin's voice come to life as she turned up the volume on her radio.

"...been a while," she was saying wistfully as her words filled Lucy's ears. "I wonder... I–I mean, do you guys even remember me?"

Lucy scoffed a little laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. Robin had promised one radio show upon her return to Hawkins for the kids' graduation, and Lucy had been looking forward to it since the fall. Now she could not help but smile at the sound of Rockin' Robin back in the booth.

"Okay," said Robin, relenting, the smile audible in her tone, "maybe I'm being too modest. I mean, let's be honest, who could forget this soothing voice with a trace of Debra Winger rasp?"

"That might be pushing it," Lucy muttered to herself.

"That's right. It's me! Robin Buckley, aka Rockin' Robin. Jimmy 'Fast Hands' was kind enough to let me back into the booth for a guest stint, but you're gonna have to cut me some slack because I am feeling rusty. I mean, what do I even talk about? My go-to subjects are as out of date as, well, my friend's bowl cut. I mean, there's no soldiers, no fences, no Big Brother cameras, and—well, the only Big Mac I can find is a Smush Double Patty at Mickey D's. People are happy and smiling and going to the movies. But, hey, who doesn't wanna see Indy's new adventure?"

Following her words came a belching sound effect.

"Shit," Robin muttered. "Uh..."

She played the sound of a whip cracking to drive home the Indy bit.

"There we go! Sorry about that, my partner in crime ditched me. But, well, as far as excuses go, he had a pretty good—"

"COME ON, UMANSKI!"

Lucy raised her eyes to the field, where she saw Steve pumping his fist in the air, whooping as one of his players rushed to the last base to give the Cubs another home run. As Umanski made it home, Steve clapped him on the shoulder, sending him back toward the rest of his cheering teammates.

"Nice job, nice!" Steve called over his shoulder, clapping at them; the boys huddled together for a moment then took to the field to play defense against their rivals. Steve nodded as they ran past him, cheering them on. "Baseball ready, baseball ready. No mental mistakes!"

"I am almost too superstitious to say this, and I am knocking on wood here," Robin's voice said, quieter now as Lucy had slipped one of the headphones off her ear to pay attention to the game, "but I think the Hawkins curse has finally lifted. But at the same time... this isn't even the Hawkins that I remember. It feels so different. But maybe it's not the town. Maybe it's me that's changed. We probably all have. At least, that's certainly true of my friends—who, by the way, are graduating today."

She blew cheerful noisemakers into the microphone. Lucy grinned, her eyes twinkling, and glanced toward the car where her and Steve's outfits for the graduation ceremony sat waiting for them.

"That's right, Hawkins High class of '89 is walking the podium today. I hope you all come out and support them—I know I will—because if anyone deserves a standing O, they do. So to get their party started, a new favorite."

She clicked play on a track and Here Comes Your Man by the Pixies filled Lucy's ears. She smiled to herself and lowered the headphones back down around her neck, where she could still hear the song, but now focused back in on the game at hand.

"Good catch, Derek!" she called to him; though Steve always chastised him for paying more attention to the crowd than to the game, Derek turned around again, grinning at Lucy from behind his catcher's mask. He waved at her. She laughed and gestured him to focus on the game.

As usual, the Hawkins Middle School Cubs took home the win, ringing in the season with an outstanding record. They'd improved in every single aspect since Steve had taken over as coach, and now, for once in Hawkins history, they were able to say they had won more games in a season than they had lost—and the boys seemed exceptionally pleased by this. At the end of the game they rushed back toward Steve, screaming and cheering and throwing themselves at him. They pulled at his shirt and jumped up to ruffle his hair, and though Lucy knew he would have to spend time fixing it again before the ceremony, he could not look more at ease with the boys; he grinned and laughed with them, patting them all on the back, congratulating them on a great season.

"And it was!" he told Lucy in the car; he had not stopped smiling since they had left the fields after packing all the supplies back into the public locker room and seeing all the boys off to their parents. Now he drove so carefree that Lucy was worried he would wreck them before they made it to the ceremony. "It was a great season! I mean, seriously, the improvement I saw in some of those kids—Thomas, Josh, all of them. It's incredible."

A smile playing at her lips, Lucy turned her head to watch Steve replay the best moments of the game, go on about who was the most improved from the beginning of the season, who he thought would go on to play in the big leagues—Lucy watched him, unable to take her eyes off him. She hummed in response when appropriate and reacted accordingly to his stories of the boys.

After a moment Steve caught her staring and stopped himself mid-sentence, a familiar smile growing on his face.

"I'm just proud of 'em, is all," he said, softer now.

Lucy smiled, leaning the back of her head against the headrest. "Yeah, well, I'm proud of you."

He stole another glimpse of her, brown eyes glowing. A second later he reached out and took hold of her hand, letting them sit intertwined in his lap. He twisted the ring on her finger as he always did, and she smiled, melting into him.

After a brief pit stop at the Buckleys' to change out of baseball attire and into graduation Sunday best—and to pick up Robin—they pulled into the parking lot of the high school and followed the small crowd of proud, already-tearful parents out into the field next to the school. Folding chairs were set up in rows for the graduates with an aisle down the center, and a set of bleachers for the parents and family of the graduates; all seats faced the stage at the front of the field, where a podium sat with an empty microphone.

Lucy, Steve, and Robin filed into the bleachers next to a red-headed woman with wet eyes and a fat man with a balding gray head. A few seats down from them was Derek, sitting with the Wheelers; Lucy smiled at Holly, who had fallen in love with Jo March when she chose Little Women for quiet reading time and cut her hair into bangs for her (she looked just darling with them). Dustin's mom sat sobbing behind them.

The marching band played Pomp and Circumstance as the graduates made their way onto the field, orange gowns flowing in the spring breeze. One by one they filed into their seats, alphabetical by last name, but one deviated from the group and took to the stage to sit with the faculty: Dustin, the class Valedictorian. Steve broke into a grin at the sight of him and clapped louder than before, cheering Dustin on.

Principal Higgins took to the podium to welcome the graduates and their guests. He gave the same obligatory speech that he gave at all graduations—Lucy recognized it faintly from her own. It was dull and rather boring, as were all graduation ceremonies. Still Lucy smiled down at the students, holding Steve's hand. On his other side Robin held his arm, teary-eyed.

"...and now, it's my great pleasure to introduce someone who has truly excelled during their time here." Principal Higgins turned over his shoulder to grin at Dustin, then said in the microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome for your valedictorian, Dustin Henderson."

Steve shot out of his seat and clapped louder than anyone in the stands. Down on the field, Mike, Lucas, and Will stood in the crowd, whooping and clapping their hands together.

Beaming, Dustin approached the podium. He cleared his throat.

"I just wanted a normal childhood. But that childhood was stolen from me. It was stolen from us. And this past year, if you wanna know the truth, I've been pretty pissed off about it. But then I thought back to the past six years, and I realized that, even though there was a lot of bad, there was so much good too.

"There's this game I like to play," he continued, smile growing. "It's called Dungeons and Dragons."

A few lonesome whoops sounded from the graduates. Lucas clapped.

"And in this game," said Dustin, "there are two types of chaos classes, chaotic good and chaotic bad. Now, bad chaos brings anarchy, destruction, war. But good chaos can bring innovation, change. And this school, frankly, it needed to change—we were so divided into the jocks, the nerds, the freaks.

"And in the chaos, all those walls broke down, and I made new friends. I made friends who were never even supposed to be my friends."

He caught sight of Steve in the bleachers and nodded slightly, smiling.

"This wasn't just me, either. I saw this happen with so many others." He gestured out to the crowd where Lucy saw some friends exchange glances with each other, smiling softly. "When you get to know people who are different from you, you begin to know more about yourself. You change. You grow. I'm a better person now. I'm a better person because of them, because of my friends.

"So... I'm not pissed off anymore. But I am worried. Worried, because now that the chaos is over, Principal Higgins and every square like him is gonna do their damndest to put everything back in order."

The crowd reacted to his words; students laughed out loud, Principal Higgins screwed up his face, some parents could not stop themselves from looking amused. 

"I don't want order," continued Dustin, impervious to the reaction of the crowd. "Which is why it's pretty hypocritical that I'm even wearing this thing. I mean, we look ridiculous. What is this? We look like Roman senators. I mean, it's not who I am. I don't think it's who any of us are. So, honestly, just screw it."

He ripped off his orange gown and revealed a new gray Hellfire shirt beneath it, and the reaction of the crowd was instantaneous. Though Higgins stood up and called for Dustin to cut his speech short, the crowd cheered; the party jumped to their feet, their fists in the air. The crowd exclaimed with laughter and shock. Steve laughed, clapping and whooping. Lucy put her hands to her mouth, finding this both completely hilarious and completely insane at the same time.

"Screw this!" Dustin yelled into the mic. "Screw the school. Screw the system. Screw conformity. Screw everyone and everything trying to hold you back and tear us apart, because this—"

Principal Higgins was now trying to take the mic back from Dustin, but Dustin moved around the podium, screaming into it now.

"THIS IS OUR YEAR!"

The graduates erupted in a cheer louder than before and jumped up from their seats, clapping him on. Steve, Lucy, and Robin rose to their feet, cheering for Dustin, watching in amazement and laughter as he flipped Principal Higgins off and yanked his diploma out of his hands. Next to the stage, Erica rolled out a confetti cannon and let it rip; orange and blue confetti showered over the crowd. The graduates tossed their caps in the air, laughing and waving and hugging each other. Principal Higgins demanded order, yelling at the students to get back in their seats now, but it was too late. They weren't listening to anyone anymore—in fact, they were not Hawkins High students anymore. They were adults.

Lucy watched, her eyes stinging, as the graduates cascaded upon each other, embracing people they hardly spoke to in high school, congratulating one another on finally making it through. She watched four particular orange grad caps snake their way through the crowd until they were all stumbling into Dustin in a group hug, grinning and laughing and in genuine disbelief at his stunt.

Lucy was smiling, and she could not have been happier for them, but of course there was an obligatory hole buried deep in her chest that ached and ached at the absence of the last party member.

When a tear fell down her cheek, she kept smiling, pretending it was one of joy and pride. When Steve took her hand and led her down the bleachers, she kept her eyes down, wiping at the tear tracks on her cheeks. When they ran into the Byers, she grinned and embraced Joyce, telling her how proud she was and congratulations to you on getting both of them through it and wow, you're officially an empty-nester!

Joyce took the wishes with a smile on her face, eyes glowing with pure pride, her hands clasping Lucy's—she did not let go of her after the hug, but instead kept gazing at her as Lucy spoke, her own brown eyes becoming wet with tears.

"Lucy." Her voice was kind—soft compared to the rabble of the crowd but loving and bearing all kinds of weight behind it. "It's okay if it hurts more than you expected it to."

Lucy's watery smile wavered. She contained it as much as she could so that all that escaped was a sharp inhale that came out too shakily, her chin quivering only slightly. Her eyes squeezed shut for half a second, and when she opened them again they were glossy, unfocused.

"Yeah," she whispered, squeezing Joyce's hands in appreciation. "Thanks."

Joyce didn't say anything else. She pulled Lucy back into her arms, tighter this time, one hand coming up to cradle the back of her head. Lucy folded into her without resistance, her forehead pressing into Joyce's shoulder as a couple of soft, broken sobs slipped free. They were quiet and quick, ones that could be written off as laughter to an unsuspecting ear.

When Steve caught up to them, he put a hand on Lucy's back which was how she knew it was time to go; they said their congratulations to Mike and the Wheelers, Dustin and his mom, Lucas and his family, Max. Jonathan squeezed Lucy's shoulder and gave her a quick hug. Even Hop pulled her into his overbearing figure for a wordless embrace.

She, Robin, and Steve headed back to their car, silence hanging over them like thick clouds. Not storm clouds, exactly, but a thick fog that sat above them and saturated the air around them. It was nice. It felt like a hug.

Steve drove them to the radio station, where Jimmy "Fast Hands" had given full ownership to Robin for the day—a responsibility which she intended to take full advantage of. Apparently she had invited Nancy and Jonathan to join them for a beer out at the Squawk, which was (and Lucy couldn't help but agree) the best spot in all of Hawkins to watch the sun set on a spring evening.

The five of them settled on the roof, after dragging some lawn chairs up; Lucy had been not entirely welcoming to the idea of sitting so high but was weaned into it by Jonathan, who she could tell was on the verge of calling her a coward again. They laughed at their childish experiences climbing the water tower and ignored the more recent memories of climbing the Squawk tower, letting that idea fall short of their retrospect.

"It's a miracle I ever got her up there, honestly," Jonathan laughed now, leaning back in his vinyl lawn chair, grinning at Lucy with their younger counterparts in his mind's eye.

"I think the real miracle was me not murdering you once we made it back down," said Lucy, chuckling at the same memory.

"Yeah, well," said Jonathan, spreading his hands. "All I'm saying is you would probably die in the city, Lucy. There isn't a building around that's less than twenty stories tall. Hell, my apartment is on the thirty-third floor."

Lucy shook her head, disbelief lowering her voice to a mutter. "Never in my life. Ever."

"But the rest of you"—Jonathan laughed and gestured to the rest of them, welcoming—"the rest of you would dig it, I swear. It's a great city, really."

"Yeah," said Steve, standing before their little semicircle of chairs with one hand in his pocket and the other wrapped around a cold beer bottle. "How much is rent?"

"You thinking about moving?" Nancy teased him.

"You wanna come live with me?" offered Jonathan.

"You can't be serious," scoffed Steve, turning over his shoulder to gesture out at the beautiful expanse before them. "I mean, come on! Look at this place. The sunset, the view. Woo! You guys are seriously telling me you don't miss any of this?"

The others pretended to think for a moment, for Steve's sake, then offered him a chorus of "no"s.

"The forest," offered Steve, turning back to them now. "The quarry, Family Video, the Hawk?"

"No," everyone except Lucy agreed, laughing.

"I couldn't come back here if you paid me a million bucks," said Jonathan.

Steve scoffed, lowering his beer bottle from his lips. "You'd need a lot less than a million, I'll tell you that. Prices are still way down. There's actually this rad place over in Loch Nora that we're, like, this close to affording."

"Hard, trying to rack up savings on two teacher salaries," Lucy added, looking around at the others with an exasperated sort of expression.

"Two teachers and a coach," said Robin, nodding to Steve.

Steve bumped Lucy's knee with his own. "Team effort."

"Unfortunately," she said fondly.

"What are you teaching?" Jonathan asked him.

"Sex ed," Robin and Lucy said in sync. Steve narrowed his eyes as though the answer pained him slightly.

"They have you teaching sex ed?" Nancy said, shooting forward in her seat, her mouth falling open in a baffled grin.

He nodded, still with the pained expression on his face. "It's part of the gig."

The others laughed, and Robin, putting on a very official demeanor, leaned towards him. "If I had a question about an STD, you'd be the first person I'd come to."

"Thank... you?" He laughed the probable insult off and shook his head. "No, I love teaching these kids, you know? I get to teach them about the miracle of life, and how to not... start it accidentally! And, this time, I'm in control of the grades."

"Ah," said Nancy, raising her eyebrows. "And why do I feel like you go pretty easy there?"

"He does," Lucy confirmed, eyes wide. "Mhm. He's been called into Principal Coleman's office on, like, at least four different occasions for it."

"Yeah, old man wants me to be stricter, but I'm not old and crotchety yet like he is." Steve leaned back in his chair, sighing. "No, thank you. So I'll stick to my A policy. B, if you're a real knucklehead. That's about as low as I go."

"Then I get kids whining to me asking why I grade so hard," added Lucy, laughing at Steve's stupidity. "And then I have to tell them 'sorry, Mr. Harrington's a softy,' and then I'm the bad guy."

"Yep," he agreed, smiling. "But it goes both ways. I mean, I get kids begging me to have movie days like Mrs. Harrington does, and the problem with that is I can't really play movies that relate to my class without it being, like, pretty much illegal."

The others laughed and Lucy shoved Steve's shoulder, though she couldn't help herself from grinning at his joke anyway.

"Hey, I know some students who wouldn't complain about watching a porno in class," said Jonathan, raising his cup. "You wanna come teach at NYU?"

"Right, right," said Steve, feigning thoughtfulness. "Yeah, that actually sounds much better. Maybe I'll even make my seventh graders watch your movie about... what, capitalism? Cannibalism? Whatever?"

Jonathan laughed and hung his head back, waving a hand to dismiss Steve's entire line of thinking. "No, no, no. It's anti-capitalist. The Consumer. It's a metaphor. The more she eats, the hungrier she gets."

"Okay," said Nancy, nodding along with the idea. Robin did not pretend to look as though she knew what he was talking about.

"It–it's—that's the working title," stammered Jonathan, crossing his legs sheepishly.

"It's good," said Nancy immediately, grinning at him.

"Yeah, no," said Steve. "Now... Smith? Smith, I would consider."

"Oh, really?" said Robin, raising her eyebrows. "Is it the lectures on Steinem that draw you, or the high concentration of gay women?"

Steve paused for a moment, caught in a trap here; he wet his lips and tilted his head to the side, wording his answer so that he did not come off as anti-women or anti-gay people. "Well... can't it be both?"

The others laughed and Robin, smiling, winked at him. "God answer, Steve."

Lucy rolled her eyes though fondly and turned her head toward Nancy. "And what about you, Nance? How are the babes at Emerson?"

"Oh, um.." Nancy shrugged her shoulders listlessly and drew in a deep breath. "I wouldn't know. I dropped out."

"No way," said Steve. "What?"

"Ohh, I knew it," said Robin, so excited she was sitting up straight in her chair now. "I knew it! You became a Navy SEAL."

"Oh, no, not quite," laughed Nancy. "I, um.. I took a job at the Herald. Which—it sounds fancier like that. It's a trainee position. But I don't know. I was just sick of school and thought I'd maybe get out there and.. try the real world."

Robin exhaled a deep breath and nodded in agreement, leaning back in her chair again. "Nancy Wheeler, still full of surprises."

Nancy smiled softly and shook her head as though too modest to accept her words. She glanced toward Jonathan, who Lucy noticed was already watching her; they shared a look with their twinkling eyes and suddenly Lucy was not so sure that they were going to be apart from each other for much longer.

"You know," said Robin, her voice going quieter now, "there actually is something that I miss about this place. I miss this. Just... us. Hanging out. I miss you guys."

The air around them grew somber in the golden light of the sunset, and Robin looked at each of them with intent, her eyes wet. Lucy pursed her lips in a sad smile, nodding her wordless agreement—she was afraid her voice would shake if she spoke. She noticed Steve pointedly looking away from the others, likely with the hope that none of them would see the tears welling up in his eyes. Lucy took his hand and he settled them together on his lap.

"I mean, I really like my new friends," Robin added, swallowing thickly. "But—it's..."

"It's not the same," Nancy finished, exhaling a little breath.

"I don't think it ever will be," said Jonathan.

Suddenly they were all crying, little breathy sobs leaving their mouths which were downturned in sad, pitiful smiles; Lucy laughed at their emotionality and wiped her face.

"Okay, Jesus!" Steve exclaimed, dabbing at his own eyes. "You're killing me, man. Let's do something about it!"

"Do what?" Lucy said, eyes following him as he stood and took in the view again, back facing them.

He took a second to answer, blowing out air from his cheeks. "I dunno. We could... meet up. Once a month, here."

"Yeah, or," said Nancy, leaning forward in her seat, "or maybe somewhere just—more neutral. Like... um, what's a city between Hawkins and Massachusetts and New York?"

"Louisville," suggested Jonathan.

Robin made a disgusted sort of noise.

"Uh, Philly," Steve said instead.

"Oh, that's good," nodded Lucy enthusiastically. "Good cheesesteaks there."

"I have an uncle who lives in Philly," Robin said, sitting up, her eyes bright at the idea. "He's weird, but he's got a big house."

"D–does it have a basement?" stammered Jonathan, suddenly very intent.

"Yeah," said Robin.

"And a boiler room?"

Steve looked at him in complete concern. "A boiler room?"

Robin curled her lips. "Uh.. yeah..."

"Oh, my god, it's perfect," laughed Jonathan, spreading his hands as though the creative genius was falling all over him. "You know, for the hideout! You know—where she traps all the men and then burns their bodies! The Consumer!"

"The Consumer!" Nancy agreed in what sounded like thinly-veiled relief. "Yeah!"

"Jesus, what do you think I'm talking about?"

"I thought you were trying to kill us," laughed Robin, the others giggling at the thought. "Jesus!"

"Okay," said Nancy, once the laughter died down a tad, though she kept the smile on her face. "Okay, yeah. So we'll meet at Robin's weird uncle's house, and we'll drink and we'll reminisce... and we'll make Jonathan's anti-capitalist cannibal movie. Starting next month."

"Yeah, I'm in," whispered Robin, smiling to herself.

"I'm in," beamed Jonathan.

They looked to Steve and Lucy; he stood behind her, one hand resting on her shoulder and the other raising his beer bottle out to the others.

"To nothing ever keeping us apart."

Robin pushed herself to her feet with a satisfied sigh. "Including overbearing significant others."

Nancy stood too, raising her cup. "School."

"Mortgages," Jonathan added, joining them.

"And kids," said Robin, tilting her cup slightly.

There was an opening in the circle, a distinct absence which Lucy's staying seated made very obvious; the others paused, not yet clinking their glasses together, and glanced over toward her. She sat in her lawn chair, hands folded loosely at her stomach, watching them with watery eyes and a difficult-to-contain smile.

Nancy noticed first—of course she did. Her gaze flickered from the empty space where Lucy's cup should've been then to Lucy herself, her eyes widening and smile melting as she understood what was happening.

Steve kept his head down to curb his grin, letting them all watch Lucy, letting her handle the attention.

Lucy looked at Nancy and laughed softly, a little breathless. Her face was burning up. "What?" she laughed.

Nancy blinked, her lips parted in complete awe. She gestured loosely to where the cooler sat. "You weren't—I mean, you haven't, all night..."

Suddenly it seemed to click in Robin and Jonathan's brains as well, and the both of them exhaled laughs of disbelief and joy and excitement and every possibly feeling that they were overcome with.

Lucy's grin grew wider and she rose to her feet, allowing Steve as he enveloped her in his arms. He smiled at her, his eyes glistening like he still couldn't believe he was allowed to feel it.

"Well," Lucy said, her voice shaking and quiet, "guess that explains why Spaghettios are a food group in our house again."

The silence broke all at once, and many arms embraced Lucy in a hug at the same time—they were all talking and laughing and congratulating her, telling her they couldn't believe it; Jonathan clapping Steve on the shoulder and then going in for a hug with him, too.

"Yeah," he said, voice rough with pride and tears all at once as the two of them were released from the onslaught of hugs. He looked around at all of them, an arm around Lucy's waist, and nodded in confirmation. "We're... we're doing that."

Robin wiped at her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "Wow. So that cheers counts, like, retroactively, right?"

Lucy smiled, leaning back into Steve's chest. "I'll allow it."

"And kids," Robin repeated, softer now as it carried the weight of the world this time. She reached up and put an arm around Lucy's shoulder, and beside her Nancy did the same to her and Jonathan; Jonathan linked his around Steve's, and Steve pulled Lucy in closer until they were all embracing each other, grinning and teary-eyed.

"Wow," said Nancy, as they all stepped out of the hug. She seemed to ponder on the implications of this, her eyes narrowing in deep, true thought—then she looked between both of them, a smile playing at her lips. "So does that make this one out of six?"

The emotional moment immediately returned the high-spirits from before as Lucy laughed so loudly it echoed across the field surrounding them. Robin snorted at Steve's head bowing in admittance of his defeat, and together they all began to badger him all over again. Then the conversation shifted as they retook their seats, though everybody sat at the edge of them, paying full attention to Lucy and Steve; they asked if there were names in mind, how long had they known for, when was it due, could Robin be the godmother, and, in that case, would Dustin be the godfather or could Jonathan claim that title?

Lucy laughed and laughed, answering what she could and letting the rest blur together, the night folding in around them—voices overlapping, laughter piercing the still evening air, the radio somewhere below them humming its last song. When the questions finally softened into easy chatter and the laughter settled into something warm and familiar, she leaned back into Steve's side and rested a hand over her stomach, breathing in the moment as it was: imperfect, hard-won, and real. For the first time in a long while, the future didn't feel like something looming or frightening—it felt like something waiting for them, steady and alive, and for once, Lucy let herself still, letting the future come to her. She would not go chasing it down anymore. She didn't need to.

She had everything she needed, and she was happy—and she knew for a fact that she would never be unhappy again, but this was only further exemplified as Steve burst into a rendition of Dustin's Never Ending Story song to end the evening.

Via Chatter

I'm lowkey that one oomf that's gonna hold onto this book way too long

In all seriousness, I am genuinely overjoyed that so many of you found and supported and seriously enjoyed my work with this book. Lucy Andrews is a girl I hold so dear to my heart, and this particular work has made it through a lot of hard work— any real ones out there remember when I didn't update for like almost two years loll?? Anyway glad that's in the past, but SO not glad that this book is about to be. I sincerely thank each of you for giving me the motivation to keep writing this story. Your engagement and your love for these characters was such great inspiration, and I will carry all of you in my heart forever. You make my silly little hobby not only possible, but enjoyable too. Thank you thank you thank you. Seriously.

Anyway, yes that is the end of Risky Business as we know it. But do not fret — if any of you read my Ron Weasley fic you know that I tend to offer up a little treat to my faithful readers at the end of my fics!! Keep an eye out for the next update I publish if you want to see some heat 🔥🔥

Seriously I love you all and I want to kiss you all on the forehead. My little angels. My beautiful friends in my Wattpad account. Thank you for everything.

Goodbye, Lucy! We love you forever. Everyone listen to your favorite ABBA song in honor of her today.