by fali. » Wed Dec 02, 2020 5:10 am
╱ ╯- ❝ stargazing ! ❞
╱ ╯- written: 10/08/2020 | character: jessica 'jess' simmons | cw: n/a
Jess often forgot when her birthday was rolling around. Often enough, it was blown over, aside from a small mention of “happy birthday” courtesy of her mother, Heather and Michael and perhaps a present if the family could afford it that year. Thirteen… people always treated that age as important in school. Like it was meant to be some sort of status symbol that you had reached. Frankly, Jess tended to even forget her age. Or what day it was.
Until her dad piped up that evening.
“Well, Jess, I think the two of us should head out,” he started. Jess looked up, having previously been lost in thought while listening to her tape player. “Consider it a daddy-daughter treat, right?” The excitement in Jess’ eyes lit up as she pulled the earphones out.
“Sounds fun,” Jess replied with a grin on her face. “I’m in.”
After explaining to his wife that he was taking their daughter out (and after Jess overhearing an argument that it was unfair that he wasn’t taking Heather and Michael with him), the pair were in the car, driving just outside of Hawkins.
“So, Jess, how’ve you enjoyed your birthday?” he questioned. Jess turned to face him, the mischievous glint shimmering in her eyes.
“It’s been great, I think this is the earliest Heather ever wished me a happy birthday.”
“Is that so? You’re lucky then, aren’t you kiddo?” David let out a bellow, pushing his foot against the gas pedal and allowing them to speed down the road. “Sorry your mom and I couldn’t get you a present this year. Money’s tight again.”
Jess found herself staring at the way the world passed by. Trees flew past her eyes “It’s fine,” she replied after a moment. She couldn’t help but be disappointed--Heather still flaunted her pair of high heels their mother bought when she turned thirteen (even if they no longer fit) and Michael adored his new toy from his last birthday. Generally speaking, Jess tended to get the sideline when it came to presents. It’s not as if she couldn’t somewhat see it coming. She always had the tape player from her last birthday to fall back on.
“It’s not,” David grumbled. A sigh escaped his lips as they sped past the sign indicating that they were no longer in the town of Hawkins. “You deserve a present, Jess. You’re a big teenager now!” David knew his second daughter felt like the second fiddle of the family. Heather was proving to be a social butterfly and demanded more material goods, while Michael was the baby of the family and needed the most care. Jess played the forgotten child of the family--which tended to land her in trouble. Nobody could make the claim that Jess was an angel, quite the opposite.
Stubbornness tended to run in Simmons' blood. That trait had not skipped Jess by. She was loud, angry, unapologetic and from what he heard in the principal’s office countless times, rather violent. Yet when given the slightest amount of positive attention, she was a good kid. In fact, even now, she just seemed to be enthralled by the view from the window. He just wished he could spend more time with her--as when with Heather, he found his credit card in debt and himself ignored. At least Jess seemed to like spending time with him.
Soon enough, they approached a hilltop. Parking at the bottom, David found his daughter’s infectious spirit enveloping him. “Bet you can’t beat me to the top,” he challenged, gesturing towards the tree that sat on the top of the hill. His smile softened at the sight of the energy that spiked his daughter’s interest.
“Like you could, old man,” Jess cackled, cockiness laced in her voice. It was if she was away in the blink of an eye, for as soon as he turned Jess sprinted towards the hilltop, the pants in her breath evident as she straggled towards the tips of the branches, sitting under the tiniest cover of the tree. David followed behind, heaving himself up without even bothering to match the speed of his offspring.
“Told you I could beat you. Bet you didn’t even see me run I was that fast,” Jess boasted. “Old timer.” David let out a breathless grunt as he plopped himself next to Jess, turning to her.
“What’d you call me, pipsqueak?” he questioned, grabbing her in a gentle chokehold and rubbing his knuckles against the top of her head, causing Jess to cry out as she laughed.
“Let me go! Let me go!” Jess squeaked, laughter from both of them filling the air as David loosened his grip. As they tried to recapture their breath, they both stared up at the sky. Leaving Hawkins and spending time on the top of this hill always granted you with a spectacular view of both the stars and the town below.
“Hey, kiddo. What do you think the stars are, huh?”
“They’re stars.” Okay, a rather blunt answer. “We haven’t done astrology yet.”
“Really? I happen to think they’re our family,” David responded, gaze fixed on the stars. Jess turned to glance at her father in confusion, following her gaze to where his hand now seemed to point. “I think that star’s your granny Margret. Oh, she would’ve loved your spirit, pipsqueak,” he continued. “And the one next to it is your grandpa John. They’re a bit distant as they bickered in their old age. I wonder if they still do that.”
Jess never thought of the stars like that before. They seemed to shine over the town, relatives looking over those who remained among the living. It was a beautiful idea--she needed the idea of someone looking over her. Maybe the stars could help. Well… it’s not like she needed it right now. Her dad was the only person she needed to care about her. She glanced up, fixated on a particularly bright star in the sky.
“I bet that one’s uncle Ronald.” She pointed to the brightest star she could find. “That’s him making sure you’re behaving yourself.”
“Yeah? And what about you, pipsqueak, you might need him as your guardian angel at the rate you get in trouble. I’ll tell you what, you’ll need to behave yourself when you eventually get to high school. You’re already testing your middle school. At least make sure you make it through it.”
Jess groaned, rolling her eyes and nudging against her father. “I will! I promise. First week back. Well, I promise I will for the first week.”
“That’s my girl.” David sighed. He just wished his daughter could find this amount of peace more often. “Happy birthday, Jess.”
To his surprise, Jess wrapped her arms around his waist as she pulled him in a tight embrace. “Thanks, old timer,” she replied, remaining in the embrace as she shifted herself to lie down as they continued to stare at the stars.
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word count: 1,161
a/n: jess was very close to her dad. so i had to write a drabble over the summer to showcase this fact. a lot of my drabbles are about jess, for the record. i love her.