November 5, 1983

After leaving school that day Barbara informed Kinsley that she and her parents would be out of town for the night due to a Speech Team competition.  Nancy gladly offered up her place to Kinsley for the night and the new girl was happy.  While she was staying in 1983 she figured she may as well try to have some fun with her new friends.

The answer of how to get home still remained unanswered.  

Kinsley decided that she needed to go clothes shopping sooner than later.  She couldn't walk around 1983 in the same clothes forever, right?  Luckily she had enough cash on her to last for a load of clothes and some food if needed.  She also wanted this time to be alone and hopefully come up with a plan to get back to 2017.

She and Nancy parted ways before they could reach town and Kinsley headed off to the thrift store.  It was her cheapest option if she wanted to save up as much as she could.  After a decently successful shopping trip, she took a peek into the music store next door.  She caught sight of a pair of kids looking through records.  A smile crossed her face as she realized these two were most likely brothers.

It was so odd to see shiny, new records as opposed to the used ones her father still had in the garage.   There were even new, large displays for Walkmans that had gotten smaller in size.  She chuckled to herself when she remembered her phone and how little it was, yet it held so much  more than just music like Walkmans could.

Reluctantly she left the somewhat magical display of music and slowly padded back to Nancy's. 

The Wheelers were delighted to meet Kinsley and also set up an air mattress in Nancy's room.  They too were going to be missing for the night at a friend's dinner party.  The girls were put in charge of watching Nancy's younger brother, Mike, and his friends.  

Nancy rolled her eyes, "I'm always in charge of the kiddies."

"They can't be that bad, can they?" Kinsley asked with a smirk.

The brown-haired girl laughed to herself, "No, they actually aren't," she leaned in closer, "His little friend Dustin has the hugest crush on me and it's adorable."

"When little children appreciate you, it feels good." 

"I wouldn't say appreciate, it's a little more along the lines of obsess." 

Kinsley let out a chuckle and leaned back against the wall, "Yes, how adorable."

- - -

"Who's Nancy's new friend?"

"Dunno, some weird girl who isn't staying with her parents."

"She's almost as hot Nan-"

"Shut up, Dustin, that's gross."

"I mean, he's not wrong."

"Will you like every girl you lay eyes on!"

The boys laughed in unison, including Will who looked to the ground sheepishly.  Mike yelled up at his sister for the pizza, which ensued in more yelling between the two siblings.  A figure appeared at the stairs with a hand on her hip, "Pizza will be here in a few minutes, kiddos."

"Will thinks you're beautiful!" Lucas shrieked at the older girl before she disappeared up the stairs.  Will leaned over and pushed Lucas back off his chair while the others laughed, face red and stinging.  Kinsley appeared at the stairs again with her arms crossed and leaning over the railing.

"That is the greatest compliment I have ever received, dear William." she said with a smile, causing the other boys to fall silent with wide eyes.  Will looked away with a shy smile and decided to take his turn in Dungeons and Dragons.  The doorbell rang and the boys immediately trampled over one another to get upstairs.  

Kinsley laughed as they pushed their way around her, she only had older siblings so being surrounded by younger ones was a change.  Nancy and Kinsley finally snuck their own pieces to themselves in the midst of the carnivorous boys lunging at every piece.  The girls giggled to themselves and headed back upstairs.  Nancy plopped down on her bed while Kinsley took a seat on her air mattress.  

"So I heard little Will Byers thinks you're beautiful?"

Little Will Byers.

Kinsley actually choked on her pizza, struggling to gain a breath.  Nancy leant down and patted her back, cringing when a piece of chewed up pizza flew from the girl's mouth.  Kinsley slowly reached forward and picked the piece up.

Her head was spinning and her mind was reeling.  

"Will Byers?"

"Are you okay?" Nancy asked with brows furrowed.

Kinsley nodded her head and ran to the bathroom for fear of choking again.  She slammed the door shut and stood against the sink, panting.  

"We all know the story about little Will Byers, right? November sixth, nineteen eighty-three, a day that will forever remain a part of Hawkins history."

Kinsley shook her head and began to panic, even more so than she was at the current moment.  She hadn't even been thinking of when she had travelled back to.  

Tomorrow, Will Byers was supposed to disappear.

But Kinsley was not planning on letting that happen.