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THIRTY FIVE!
the snowball dance
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         The angelic sound of Bing Crosby's voice filled the entire Harrington house as the family of three finished the last of their holiday preparations. The Christmas season was finally upon the citizens of Hawkins.

As well as the cold weather of winter that was approaching an alarming rate. Most people love a winter wonderland Christmas but it wasn't the most ideal situation when you were stuck shovelling a foot of the white powder every morning at the crack of dawn.

But the younger generation were thrilled as they earned so much needed days off from school. Despite the struggles that the snow brought, the tedious addition mixed with the twinkling lights and the fresh evergreen pine trees made Hawkins look like a special sight during Christmas.

The Christmas of 1984 also happened to be special for another reason. This was the first Christmas in over a year that would be joyfully celebrated by Wendy Harrington. The thirteen year old never had the chance to take part in the festive holiday the year prior due to her unfortunate situation.

Now that she was free to roam the world again, she was re-granted the privilege of celebrating the holiday season with her family, who were so desperately delighted by her return.

Thomas and Stanley Harrington also brighten up at the thought of celebrating the holiday again. They hadn't bothered to celebrate the year prior as it was just a painful memory of remembrance for the two.

The holiday felt like a depressing chore more than anything but now that the youngest Harrington had returned, everything went back to normal. The joy for the festive season had been reignited again, thanks to the girl.

Currently, Wendy Harrington was standing in her front of her bedroom mirror, fixing the simple braids she had just done on herself. The preteen girl was getting ready to attend the annual Snowball dance at her school.

Every year, Hawkins middle school always planned a winter themed formal dance for its students before they were sent off on Christmas vacation. This dance was known as the Snowball and was considered a big deal to the preteens.

This would be Wendy's first time attending the dance as she had always missed it because of the flu and now, a near death experience. She was determined to make the most out of it this time.

The thirteen year old girl wore a red statin knee length dress with puff sleeves and a layer of sheer ruffled details. The dress was a gift from Karen Wheeler as the young girl didn't have any formal dresses in her possession, so the older woman had gratefully lent an old one of Nancy's to her.

Underneath her dress was a pair of skin colour tights to keep her legs from getting cold as it was below zero outside. Finally, she finished off her outfit with a pair of red converses as she couldn't be bothered to wear a pair of uncomfortable shoes.

For accessories, she went very simple. She only wore a metal headband covered in white pearls, a pair of matching pearl earrings and a simple gold necklace to tie the look together. She also wore her new expensive pair of hearing aids in order to experience the soft music at the dance.

"Wow......" Wendy turned around to see the smiling face of her father, who had just entered the room.

"Look at you, all dressed up for your little school dance. You look very beautiful, darling." Thomas complimented in disbelief.

The older male was trying his best to not cry at the sight but he was definitely struggling. He couldn't believe that his little girl was growing up into a young woman. It only felt like yesterday he was given the pink bundle of blankets that a crying Wendy was nestled in. He still vividly remembers shushing the baby girl as he gently held onto her exposed hand.

But that was thirteen years ago. His daughter was no longer a baby and was now moving onto the independent years of her life. Thomas was not ready for his daughter to grow up and leave the comfortable nest.

"Thanks dad." Wendy smiled happily, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress.

"So.......tell me. Which middle school boy gets the honour of dancing with princess Wendy?" Thomas asked, trying to be as casual as possible but failing to hide his overprotective nature.

"Dad.....Can we not do this?!" Wendy whined in embarrassment.

"What?! I'm just making conversation." Thomas defended, becoming fake offended by her tone.

"Yeah but it's weird." Wendy pointed out.

"Ok but who is this lucky boy? I think as your father I have a right to know." Thomas reminded.

"Dad!" Wendy exclaimed, becoming extremely anxious by the topic.

The young girl hated how her father kept pestering and insisting on learning the name of this apparent boy that she liked or would be taking to the dance. This sort of conversation occurred almost every day, leading up to the Snowball dance and it didn't help the uncomfortable pit of nervousness that continued to grow in her stomach.

Over the past few months, the mentioning of the word, boy, would cause Wendy to immediately tense up and have the urge to hide away in her room to cry. She already felt like a complete freak and liking girls didn't help her case. She never really thought that she could be into girls but one look at Max and she fell head over heels for the redhead.

There was something about the Mayfield girl. She was like a forbidden fruit. Wendy knew that she shouldn't go for it but she couldn't stop herself. She tried her hardest to resist the urges but the attraction had grown to the point that she could no longer deny her feelings.

Wendy was definitely the most scared about telling her father that the person she liked was a girl. It had been easy to tell her older brother as he completely understood why she'd like girls and even supported her decision to try to pursue Max.

But telling her father was a whole different story. She didn't know her dad's stance on homosexuality and she immediately assumed the worst.

She knew that her paternal grandfather and uncle were against homosexuality, so she just assumed her father would be, even if he stayed quiet during those types of conversations. Just the thought of him hating her for something like this, broke her but she knew he'd have to know eventually.

"Come on, is it Will?" He questioned. "I wouldn't be mad if it was Will as he's a nice boy." Thomas assured his apprehensive daughter.

"No, it's not Will." Wendy denied.

"Alright......Maybe, Dustin?" Thomas asked.

"It's not Dustin either." She shook her head.

"How about......?" Wendy quickly cut off the older man with a question. "Dad, can I tell you something?" She was swallowed the nervous lump that was stuck in her throat.

She was going to admit it. She was finally going to admit to her father that she liked girls. Sure, it could be a bad move but she'd rather break his heart now then continue to lie to him.

"Of course!" Thomas nodded happily. "You can tell me anything." He quickly assured.

"I'm not going with any of the boys because I don't like them." Wendy started.

"Ok......you're going with another boy, who I don't know?" Thomas questioned, not quite grasping where this conversation was heading.

"No." She shook her head. "I'm not going with any of the boys because I like Max." Wendy finally ripped off the bandaid after what felt like years, despite it only being few weeks or so.

"Max?" Thomas's eyes widened in disbelief. "Isn't she the redhead girl that you started hanging around with?" He pondered in confusion.

"Yeah, she's the one." Wendy confirmed with a nod. Her voice was shaky as she was afraid of what kind of response she was gonna get out of her father.

Thomas had gone completely silent at the sudden news. He was definitely shocked to say the least. Out of every crazy thing that has happened to his daughter, the thought of homosexuality never crossed his mind.

He wasn't mad or disgusted, just taken back by the announcement but he wasn't feeling any negative emotions towards the topic. Even though, he had heard countless opinions on homosexuality, he never believed those common opinions.

He believed that deep down, everyone deserved to love whoever they wanted to love, no matter who they were. And his daughter, Wendy was no different to his opinion.

"Are you mad at me?" Wendy asked, breaking the painful silence between them.

"No....." Thomas finally made eye contact with his daughter, who was clearly on the verge of tears. "I'm just shocked, that's all." He confirmed.

"I'm really sorry for disappointing you with this." Wendy apologized, finally allowing the suppressed tears to roll down her cheeks. "I'll even go to one of those conversion therapy camps if you want me to be fixed of my mistake." She suggested.

"Wendy, you're not going to one of those camps." Thomas's tone was stern.

"I'm not?" Wendy questioned in shock.

"Of course not. I'm not mad at you or even disgusted. I'm just surprised, that's all but I could never be mad at you." He assured.

"You're not mad?" Wendy asked in disbelief and her father shook his head in confirmation.

"I understand that this is probably a hard thing for you to come to terms with, especially at this age but as your father, I just want you to know that I'll still love you and support you no matter what in life. I don't care if you like another girl because I know this is the true version of yourself. You were always different from everyone in Hawkins but in a good way and this just makes you more special. Don't ever feel afraid to hide yourself from me. I'll love you no matter what and don't forget that." Thomas explained to the younger girl, who smiled happily with tears in her eyes.

"You'll always be the one thing I ever wanted you to be, my daughter." Thomas boasted, pulling the young girl in for a gentle hug to comfort her.

Wendy melted into his embrace with ease, allowing him to rub gentle circles on her back. "Thank you, dad." She smiled in relief, happy with the response she received from her dad.

"I love you, Wendy and don't ever forget that." Thomas reminded in a stern tone to get his point across, in case she still held some apprehension.

"I won't and I love you too, dad." Wendy assured, closing her eyes to relax in her father's embrace.

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         The drive over to Hawkins middle school was a somewhat peaceful one. Wendy Harrington silently sat in the front seat, resting her head as she stared out into the starry sky, while her father drove. The two would occasionally converse but both were just mostly humming along to the Sergeant Peppers album cassette tape that had been popped in.

Despite, the soft lull of the music and the company of her father, Wendy couldn't shake the nervous feeling out of her body. Her worries had only increased when the car was stopped in the school's parking lot.

She was internally debating on whether she should tell her father to turn the car back around. She was still not used to crowded places, so she was worried that the dance might cause her to breakdown and the added stress of trying to impress the redhead girl, didn't help her either.

"Wendy." Thomas called, dragging the girl away from her thoughts. "You'll be fine, I promise. You're gonna have a fun time tonight with all of your friends." He assured.

"I know......it's just nerve wracking." Wendy admitted, continuing to stare out the window.

"If anything happens, I'm one phone call away. I'll be here to immediately pick you up." Thomas assured with a gentle smile that his daughter returned.

"Ok." Wendy nodded as she opened the car door. She gently stepped out onto the asphalt and smoothed out her dress as she stood up straight.

"And don't forget that you look beautiful right now. I know Max will think so too." Thomas complimented.

"Thanks, dad." Wendy smiled happily.

"Have a fun time and I'll be here at 9pm to pick you up." Thomas reminded, earning a nod in return. The girl then gently closed the door with a wave before watching her father drive off.

Once Thomas had left, the Harrington girl had carefully made her over to the opened school doors. She was trying her best to not trip in her new dress and ruin it, so she was taking the slowest steps possible.

It felt like forever before she had reached the school gym, where the dance was being held. It was completely decked out in blue and white decorations to set the mood. Everything from blue and white balloons, streamers and even a disco ball. The staff went all out for this dance.

"Ticket, please?" Mr Clark asked.

He was sitting down at a small table in front of the opened doors. Wendy just nodded as she pulled out her designated ticket from her small crossbody bag. She handed over the ticket that was then stamped and placed into a small tin box. 

"Enjoy, the dance." He smiled happily before she entered the school gym.

Despite the amount of preteens in the gym and the loud music playing, she was able to quickly spot the Party members. They all sat together at a table, dressed in their nicest attires.

"Wendy!" Max called happily upon noticing the girl walking over to the group's table.

"You can sit next to me." Wendy gladly accepted the offer with a nod, sitting right down next to the girl. Max sent a soft smile towards her way and that ultimately caused her cheeks to burn hot.

"Holy shit, what happened to you?" Mike questioned  suddenly with wide eyes, once he had spotted their curly haired boy, who looked different.

"What do you mean, what happened?" Dustin stared at the Wheeler boy in confusion.

"Your hair." Max pointed out. His natural curls had been gelled and re-styled in a way that sort of resembled Steve Harrington's signature hairstyle.

"Is there a bird nesting in there?" Lucas asked in a mocking manner, closely inspecting the Henderson boy's new curly hairdo.

"What do you mean, what's wrong with my hair? There's no bird nesting in here, asshole. Okay?" Dustin exclaimed in annoyance, hitting the many hands away from his face. "I worked hard."

"I think you look great, Dustin." Wendy complimented, trying to uplift his shattered spirits. He send the girl a smile in return.

"Max....." Lucas called nervously, turning towards the redhead girl. "You wanna......umm....You wanna like.....you know? Like just you and me?" He fumbled over his own words due to his own nerves.

"Are you trying to ask me to dance, stalker?" Max questioned in amusement.

"No, of course not. Unless you want to." Lucas assured with an awkward smile.

"So smooth. Come on." Max invited, grabbing the boy's hand before dragging him off towards the crowded dance floor.

Wendy could practically hear her own heart shattering into a million different pieces after witnessing an act of betrayal, committed by one of her closest friends. She had spent hours upon hours, trying to perfect her words in order to woo the love of her life.

But here was Lucas Sinclair, who had stumbled over his own sentences but still somehow managed to steal the beautiful red head from her.

She wasn't sad, she was angry. She was inflicted by an emotion that rarely invaded her being but that's how serious her crush was. Her blood was boiling with rage to the point that she believed that everyone in this room could see the evil glare in her eyes.

Just the sight of the two preteens dancing together to the uncomfortably slow song, added extra salt to this raging wound. She was furious beyond belief.

"I'm gonna get a cup of punch." Wendy announced, her tone filled with rage.

She could care less about the three boys staring at her with confused looks as she stomped over to the table that was covered in the refreshments.

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         Wendy Harrington sat on the bleachers, bitterly taking small sips of her punch. Her excited thoughts about the dance had instantly been soured as she watched the beautiful Max Mayfield, romantically dancing with one of her best friends.

She couldn't tear her eyes away from the interaction, despite wanting nothing more than to storm out of the dance and cry over the phone for her father to pick her up. But she decided to stomach her ill feelings and instead, continued to bitterly sit on the bleachers and reject any boys that approached her for a dance.

The girl was so out of it that she didn't even realize that Dustin Henderson had sat down beside her. He too was having a miserable time after being rejected by his crush.

"Didn't work out, I'm guessing?" Wendy pondered, not looking up at the Henderson boy. She just continue to glare down at the watery punch in her plastic red solo cup.

"Nope." Dustin sighed in annoyance, plopping down right next to the girl. "This sucks."

"Yep." Wendy nodded in agreement. "I totally love seeing my crush dancing with one of my best friends." She sarcastically pointed out.

Dustin had immediately picked up on what the girl was saying, following her gaze over to where Max and Lucas were currently dancing. He was able to pick up on the fact that she had liked Max and not Lucas due to the different way that she interacted with the redhead.

"You like Max?" He questioned in confusion.

"Yes.......Was it that obvious?" Wendy pondered.

"A bit." Dustin nodded. "I see the way you two look at each other. You got that energy that Steve was talking about."

"What energy?" Wendy asked with a slight smirk.

"Never mind about what kind but I see it in you two." Dustin assured.

The two preteens continued to sit together, trying to make conversation and laughing at each other's antics to sooth the pain of this now dreadful dance. They paid no more attention to the dance floor that was currently in front of them.

Luckily, Wendy was so focused on the curly haired boy in front of her, that she didn't notice the kiss shared between her crush and best friend. But she also didn't witness the redhead pulling away from the Sinclair boy and immediately rushing off of the dance floor.

It wasn't until Max had showed up in front of her that she was pulled back into reality. "Wendy." The two preteens quickly stopped speaking to look over the redhead girl.

Unfortunately for Wendy, she had made direct eye contact with those goddamn ocean blue eyes. The same blue eyes that had made her fall head over heels in love. She was stuck in a trance of tranquility, despite still being annoyed with the redhead.

"I'm gonna get some more punch. I'll be back." Dustin quickly accused himself to let the two girls discuss among themselves.

"What do you want?" Wendy pondered, immediately pulling her eyes away to stare down at her feet.

"Can I sit?" Max asked in a gentle tone.

"I guess...." Wendy shrugged.

The redhead took this as confirmation and gently took a seat beside the clearly uncomfortable Harrington girl. "I'm sorry." Max apologized suddenly. "I didn't mean to make you ditch you and make you upset."

"Yeah, well, you did." Wendy pointed out. "You promised me that we would this spend time together as friends but you immediately ditched me for some dance with Lucas."

"I know and I feel really terrible about it." Max agreed, feeling just as horrible.

"You don't have to feel bad about it. We're just friends and I understand that I was probably coming in between you two." Wendy explained.

"What do you mean?" Max questioned in confusion.

"I'm not stupid. I know you two clearly have feelings for each other." Wendy pointed out seriously but this caused the redhead to unexpectedly laugh.

"Wendy, you have this all wrong." Max assured. "I only danced with him to be nice. I don't actually like him like that. We're just friends."

"Oh, really?" Wendy's jaw dropped, not believing what she was hearing.

"Really." Max confirmed as she moved closer to the girl on the bench, their shoulders were now practically rubbing up against each other.

"I don't like Lucas." Max reached over and carefully took both of Wendy's hands into hers. "I like you." She finally admitted out loud.

It took a lot of guts for the redhead to admit her feelings but she could no longer contain them. Her heart kept practically calling out to the Harrington girl throughout her dance with Lucas Sinclair and she could no longer silence them. It was now time to get this weight off her chest.

Lucky for her, Wendy Harrington felt the same way. "I like you too." She smiled happily, gently squeezing the redhead's hands.

They silently stared into each other's eyes, wide smiles etched on their faces. Max was the first one to make a move. Once she realized that no one was paying direct attention to them, she gently leaned to the point their lips were almost touching. Wendy decided to break the space and gently pressed her lips to the redhead's. They both smiled into the kiss they shared.

This marked the beginning of a new chapter for Max Mayfield and Wendy Harrington's relationship.

💬 AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Even though Wendy said she doesn't like boys, she's not exclusively gay. She only said that statement as she only likes Max and she isn't attracted to the boys at her school. The correct label for Wendy's sexuality is pansexual.

She is able to really see the good in all of her friends, despite the red flags they have and I think that attribute translates well to romance for her. She would be able to love whoever, no matter their gender as she only sees people for who they are on the inside. So pansexual is definitely her label.

Also, I know it's the mid 80's and not many people are supportive of the LGBTQ+ community but I think the party and her family would be supportive of her sexuality. It might be some getting used to for everyone but I think they would be ok with it in the long run. Also, let's be real here, Steve and Thomas are the biggest Mandy (Max x Wendy) shippers.

★ 𝐎𝐃𝐃 𝐄𝐘𝐄 ! stranger things fanfic ★
(© 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱)