EPILOGUE: SUMMER DAYS



SUMMER OF '85
Hawkins, Indiana




Summertime in Hawkins, Indiana was dead boring; children had once made up games with their stuffed toys, murders about Mr. Rabbit and disappearances of Miss Barbie. Now, teenagers had replaced their toys for cups of chilled beer from a keg, and replaced their silly storytelling for loud music and the thrill of dancing against somebody else. 


Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears For Fears was the song that blared through some random kid's house, leaking into the backyard where the graduating class of 1985 splashed in the pool. The song was the summer anthem for Hawkins teenagers that celebrated their last summer before heading away for college in new cities. Many familiar faces littered the crowd, some no longer students, others still waiting for another year for their chance at freedom; Carol Perkins, her ex-boyfriend, who was now dating a senior boy on his basketball team, Tommy Hagan, Heather Holloway, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Dottie Fields, Robin Buckley, Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington, Daisy Lonsdale, and the shining Marigold Lonsdale. 


Currently, Marigold was sipping on her solo cup of beer, eyes searching the crowd from a bedroom balcony. Should could barely remember the host of the summer bash, maybe Tina, who was infamous for her parties, but it no longer mattered, because this was Marigold's last summer in Hawkins, for a while, at least. Next week she would pack her bags and fly across the country to Dallas, a new city for a new mystery. Behind her, Billy Hargrove was smoking in the bathroom, rubbing ice across his bare shoulders to cool down. He was not leaving town, which meant their friends with benefits relationship was done and dusted. 


"Heather is pretty cute," Marigold said, sliding her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose. She watched Heather below, dancing alongside her sister, who was on her fourth cup of beer, which meant her vision was a little blurry. "She might be alright for a summer romance."


Billy came to stand beside her, a single hand flattened across her hipbone. He drew circles under her dress, kissing her shoulder blade. His cigarette blew smoke across her face, but she didn't mind too much. She would actually miss his scent; smoke, sandalwood cologne, adrenaline. Billy watched Heather too, not very interested. He worked at the community pool with her, she was nothing compared to Marigold. "Hawkins won't be the same," he grunted, "Not without you."


Marigold smiled, she liked that little notion. "Was that you're own way, of telling me you'll miss me? Nice to see you've grown a little more sentimental." 


"Who's the sentimental one now?" Billy hummed against her skin, teasing her back to bed. He did not get the chance to tempt her mind, eyes spotting a redhead in the crowd below. He pulled away from Marigold. "What the fuck is Max doing here?"


Marigold spotted his sister too. She was not alone, apparently, the entire party had snuck into the summer bash, not that anybody cared, most of the teenagers below were wasted. "Hey," Her fingertips gripped his chin, jerking his eyes back to her own. "You promised you would be kind to her. She doesn't need an asshole for a brother. Remember that?" 


Billy gave a gentle nod of his head, sucking in another blow from his cigarette. Marigold kissed his cheek, one last kiss for goodbye, before she unwrapped her body from his own and padded down the staircase in search for her sister.


She found Dottie Fields first, who was strapping her feet into her rollerblades next to Robin Buckley, who was still wearing her Scoops Ahoy uniform, a blue and white sailor outfit. "Dottie, Robin, hey," Marigold smiled. "Have you seen Daisy?"


Dottie shook her head. "Not recently, but she's totally wasted."


Robin laughed too. "Steve really needs to learn how to deal with a drunk girl."


"He's learning," Dottie said. "Why don't you like him?"


Robin Buckley did not like the popular type, especially Steve fucking Harrington. However, she only knew about him from afar, she had not spent days fighting monsters with him. "He's a loser," Robin snickered, leaning across to kiss Dottie on the cheek. They had been dating for a few months now, and were crowned Hawkins High's cutest couple at prom. "Ready to skate to Starcourt Mall?" 


Dottie pushed herself to her feet, her rollerblades sending her crashing into Marigold, who settled her with a grin. "Oh, fiddlesticks," Dottie groaned. "I promised to pick up Duncan from Hopper's this afternoon—"


"Don't worry," Marigold promised. "I've got it." Duncan Downings had found a sweet friendship with Jane Hopper, or more commonly known to her friends as Eleven. They spent many afternoons watching television and eating Eggos.


Blending back into the sea of faces, Marigold sipped at her beer again, watching, always watching. Nested far away from looming eyes was Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler, heads bent together as they chatted about their summer internships at the newspaper. By the pool, flapping about in the shallow end was Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Will Byers and Max Mayfield, enjoying the cool water, not worried about getting caught. Marigold moved by them with a wink, which Max returned, before dunking Mike underwater. 


By the keg stand, gulping down another cup of beer, was Daisy Lonsdale. Her blonde hair was wrapped up in a bandana and her neck covered in a flowered choker, something she had pinched from Marigold, but she didn't mind too much. Beside Daisy, hair longer than ever, grin larger with her laugh, was Steve Harrington. He was whispering something into her ear, which had her slapping his bicep, but she was smiling. He reached around her, slinging his arms around her waist and rocking them both to the tunes of the summertime anthem. 


Marigold shifted through the dancing bodies, eyes pinned to the couple. She waited in the mess of graduates, watching for a far. She was always the sun, the star that observed from above, catching every single detail missed by the moon. She overheard Steve's words, not fuelled by trashy beer. 


"Alright, Goldilocks." He looped his hand into her own, pulling her lightly towards the glass doors that led inside the house, and far away from the keg. "I think that's enough for today." Daisy never got wasted, not like this, and Marigold knew she was filling her bloodstream with alcohol to keep her heart from breaking. Daisy had been furious when she had told her about Dallas. 


Marigold watched from a distance, capturing the words not said. Not everyone could say the words out loud; three simple words. I love you. Her sister was not the kind of girl to ever say the words out loud, and maybe Steve Harrington was not kind of boy now either. Instead, their love language was different. Daisy's was the simple punch to the bicep, a light slap against a shoulder as she grinned wildly. Steve Harrington's was the way he said his words, fuelled by his deepest desires. The way he looked at her, the soft touch of his fingertips, the way he said her nickname.  


Despite the fact Marigold was indeed worried, about Daisy, about Duncan, she knew they would both be quite alright without her. Duncan had Eleven, Daisy had Steve. They would be okay.  


"Take me home, lover boy?" Daisy questioned, eyes blazing in the heat. 


Steve's heart melted, a smile capturing his lips. "Yeah, let's get outta' here." 


Marigold slipped by another student on the dance floor, a smile pinned to her lips watching the couple. Steve Harrintgon and Daisy Lonsdale kissed under the hot sun like nobody was watching. 


But Marigold Lonsdale was always watching; the ultimate watcher. Everything had begun with her, a mystery to follow, a story to unfold, a path to follow in the darkness. Soon, she would leave Hawkins and start a brand new story and her sister, her family, her friends, would begin another adventure with strange monsters, and she, Marigold Cathrine Lonsdale, would become another mystery to solve.










- author's ramblings - 


Hola, it's been a wild (and long, at times) journey. 


Many of you that started this journey with me, did not end with me and that's okay. I lost a lot of inspiration for this story, as my love for the show vanished. I am very happy to end it finally, on a more happy and promising epilogue. I had originally planned to direct the story into season three, but that just won't happen, so this little summer finale acts as a bridge and a wrap up. I really hope you enjoyed the story because at one point in time, this meant the world to me. Thank you so much reading! I do hope you share your thoughts with me. 


As a parting thought, I've added a commission art work of Daisy Lonsdale below. The wonderful artist from Instragram captured her 1985 look, which stripped away her dark edginess and added her appearance of growing up, and beyond her rebellious spirit we saw a lot in act one. She's now a fully fledged summer girl below, and I will miss her and her family dearly. 


- thinkertaydust xo






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