#Supercharge parenting skills

[kidsinnowadays]

Supercharge Your Parenting Skills: 7 Game-Changers for Raising Strong, Confident Kids

Learn 7 science-backed tips to improve parenting skills, strengthen family bonds, and raise resilient, confident kids. Small shifts can supercharge your parenting. #ParentingTips #StrongKids #ConfidentChildren #EffectiveParenting

The Importance of Resilience Resilience is the ability to adapt and bounce back when things don’t go as planned. It’s a key trait that allows people to recover from difficulties and setbacks. Researchers have found that resilience is one of the most important skills for success in school, work and life. Studies show that resilient individuals tend to be more productive, engaged and optimistic.…

[astroeleanor]

˚ ༘🪞✨Ultimate Astrology Guide to *GLOW UP* in 2025 + The Blessings You Will Receive✨🪞˚ ༘

2025 is shaping up to be a stellar year for growth and receiving blessings. Why? Because the planet of expansion and abundance, Jupiter, is playing a leading role in activating your birth chart. Jupiter, the planet of luck, wisdom, and glow-ups, will be making *waves* as it moves through Gemini in the first half of the year (From January 1st until June 8th 2025) and into its exalted home of Cancer in the second half (From June 9th 2025 through December 2025).

Today I will help you understand how Jupiter’s journey will supercharge your personal glow-up in 2025! Each Rising Sign will see two of their houses being activated in 2025, which means you will receive blessings in two areas of your life. So, make sure to look for both sections for your Rising Sign in this post. Are you ready to dive in?

1H (GEMINI & CANCER RISING): A glow of confidence and optimism, feeling revitalized and energized, major life shifts, being recognized as a source of comfort and inspiration, new lifestyle choices, magnetizing relationships and opportunities with ease, a major life chapter begins, personal growth, radiance, stronger sense of identity and emotional empowerment.

2H (TAURUS & GEMINI RISING): Expanding your income, attracting wealth, cultivating gratitude for abundance, long-term financial security through smart investments or savings, discovering hidden talents that enhance your earning power, unexpected financial windfalls, financial growth, expansion of material possessions or luxuries.

3H (ARIES & TAURUS RISING): Growth in skills such as writing or speaking, profitable ventures through local businesses, strengthened relationships with siblings/cousins/neighbors/people in your ZIP code, a busy and rewarding schedule of short trips or community events, receiving recognition for sharing ideas or educational content, mentors or teachers who open doors, enhanced communication skills and persuasive abilities, success in teaching endeavors.

4H (PISCES & ARIES RISING): Opportunities to invest in or expand real estate holdings, emotional closeness with parents, healing generational trauma, creating your dream home environment, welcoming new family members (the birth of a child), stability and security, a sense of belonging, opportunities to purchase or upgrade property, ancestral blessings, home renovation, relocating.

5H (AQUARIUS & PISCES RISING): A creative renaissance, success in artistic projects, romantic opportunities that feel emotionally fulfilling, blessings related to children or parenting roles, getting pregnant, rediscovering hobbies or activities that bring you joy, being recognized for your talents, healing your inner child.

6H (CAPRICORN & AQUARIUS RISING): Better work-life balance, a surge in productivity, improved daily routines, leadership opportunities in health or service-related industries, gaining recognition for your contributions, health improvements through lifestyle changes, stronger connection with pets, emotional fulfillment through acts of service, workplace dynamics improve, receiving blessings through helping others.

7H (SAGITTARIUS & CAPRICORN RISING): Meeting a soulmate or significant long-term partner, business collaborations that bring financial stability, increased harmony in your relationships, resolving conflicts, legal settlements work in your favor, resolving disputes, expansion and blessings in partnerships, opportunities for marriage, growth through collaborations, favorable outcomes in negotiations, meeting influential or supportive people.

8H (SCORPIO & SAGITTARIUS RISING): Emotional healing, investments and joint projects bring success, positive personal transformation, personal empowerment, strengthened intimacy and trust in your relationships, your psychic abilities growing significantly, resolving karmic debts tied to finances or emotional entanglements, financial windfalls, receiving inheritances, beneficial psychological transformation.

9H (LIBRA & SCORPIO RISING): Life-changing travel experiences, academic success, finding your sense of purpose, gaining wisdom through spiritual practices, favorable legal resolutions, publishing or sharing knowledge with a wider audience, encounters abroad lead to lasting connections, opportunities for long-distance travel, more faith and optimism, success in publishing or teaching.

10H (VIRGO & LIBRA RISING): Professional breakthroughs, leadership opportunities, receiving recognition and rewards in your career, improved relationships with bosses or authority figures, achieving balance between ambition and personal values, public acclaim, guidance from mentors propel your success, career advancement, increased visibility and influence.

11H (LEO & VIRGO RISING): Expanding your influence within social or professional circles, dreams manifesting effortlessly, earning collaborations, accolades from peers and mentors, meeting influential friends, getting access to rooms you couldn't enter before, access to exclusive networks, manifesting a long-held dream, financial blessings through social connections.

12H (CANCER & LEO RISING): Freedom from emotional burdens or self-sabotaging habits, solitude that recharges your soul, hidden sources of wealth or financial relief from unexpected places, protection from unseen challenges, divine intervention, old karmic debts dissolve, peace and closure, spiritual growth, stronger connection to your intuition.

(ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ.ﾟ✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚v✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡(ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)

These are the blessings waiting for you in 2025. If you would like to significantly increase your chances of experiencing the positive manifestations of Jupiter, I create a free video detailing the best strategies to obtain them.

This is your *fail-proof* guide to GLOW UP in 2025! There are a ton of practical tips covering how to reinvent yourself this year using your Rising Sign.

I explore this topic in-depth on Youtube. If you're excited to own TF out of 2025, here's the guide!

(ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ.ﾟ✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚v✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡(ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈) Thank you for taking the time to read my post! Your curiosity & engagement mean the world to me. I hope you not only found it enjoyable but also enriching for your astrological knowledge. Your support & interest inspire me to continue sharing insights & information with you. I appreciate you immensely.

• 🕸️ JOIN MY PATREON for exquisite & in-depth astrology content. You'll also receive a free mini reading upon joining. :)

• 🗡️ 50% OFF SALE: BOOK A READING with me to navigate your life with more clarity & awareness. (ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ.ﾟ✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚v✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡(ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)

[jadeshifting]

✦ ˚ — HOGWARTS DR

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　

JADE (meaning; nobility & wealth. the jewel of heaven, protector of generations living & dead) GRIMM … hair black as a bottomless well, nearly to my bellybutton, tall and imposing but steady as a horse nonetheless. deft hands, sneaky, quiet. footsteps lighter than the breeze. piercing gaze, eyes like pools of ink that make others want to reveal everything they’re keeping secret all at once, to give me exactly what I want before I even ask for it. powerful … like a dragon, or a tornado. i can be equal parts woman and dragon, equal parts beautiful and horrifying.

the crystal-clear water is salvation, I could lie in it for hours, it cradles me. my features are most themselves in candlelight and moonlight, which are opposites but quite the same to me. eyelids dusted with silver and white glitter, eyelashes curled, lips pouted with shimmery lipstain. days filled with centuries old books, nail polish, dueling practice, deep emerald silk, spell creation, crystal moisturizer, potionmaking.

the heiress to the only known matriarchal linage in the wizarding world. also the longest standing lineage— coincidence? NOT

mother is our matriarch, and she treats my brothers like children. not me, though. never me. I have to be everything. beautiful, more powerful than any of the others before me. surrounded by men who will lead their families one day, and my power has to dwarf theirs. it does.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　

— HOGWARTS SCHOOL

I very narrowly avoided being sent to another school, like Beauxbatons in France, but I ultimately ended up where all of my friends’ parents were sending them. not just my friends, but people I’ve known since birth. people I have blood pacts with, that hold not just my truths and secrets, but essentially a piece of my soul in their hands.

i’ve always excelled in my classes. I take notes, I do my homework early. i’m the top of my class, with some of the other Slytherins and Ravenclaw students chasing my scores but never quite meeting them. donning button-up shirts, pleated Slytherin skirts, house ties and knee socks, I’ve never missed a single class— or a single opportunity to push the dress code

“she’s untouchable— but Merlin, if I had the chance…”

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

I think i could stay within Hogwarts’ stone walls forever. aside from being my favorite place, it’s supercharged with magic, ever-changing, engorged to the brim with mysteries and things to discover, and the safest place in the wizarding world. why couldn’t i stay forever— school, to university, and become a professor— and act like no time has passed at all? something i think on often

— SKILLS & SPECIALTIES

academically speaking, I was hammered on an anvil for more years than I can remember. when it comes to knowledge there is nothing to be satisfied with short of flawlessness. it’s a lifelong pursuit, with my head full of so many spells it could very well pop, and my wand only an extension of the real tool: myself

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

magic is power, and everything else is grace… and strategy.

✦ ˚ — pulling back an arrow and watching the feather delicately flit through the air before it stabs it’s target

✦ ˚ — floating like a spectre, I become easily confused with a phantom as I glide across the ballroom when I dance

✦ ˚ — perfectly straight posture and using the proper utensils at the dinner table

✦ ˚ — notes in four languages with handwriting that loops and slants like the path of a swan

✦ ˚ — I handle a dagger, and the sleek silver becomes like another hand, something that moves without needing my attention

my magic is the flame of a dragon and the deafening roar of a riptide and the crackling growth of a thousand year old tree. everything else about me is perfectly measured— all graceful curves and precisely straight lines that make up me and everything I can do

— MY REPUTATION

i keep to my friends in Slytherin, plain and simple. i can’t remember a time in my life when i wanted friends other than them. we roam the hallways, walking to class and to dinner together, crowding around one big table in the library, occupying a row of desks, whispering and passing notes to eachother, shoving ourselves into a booth in the Three Broomsticks— in short, we’re a package deal

the fact that we swoop over Hogwarts like a flock of bats, that if i’m not with them i’m alone, that i generally don’t speak unless i really have something to say. my family’s money, the clothes i wear, and probably also the fact that i walk like i personally own the hallway… it all makes people whisper

i’m above it, as far as i’m concerned. musings about my grades or my love life, suspicions about my family, my money or my intentions— they don’t concern me.

✦ ˚ — “she’s got that aura, like she always knows something the rest of us don’t. makes you wanna follow her, just to find out.”

✦ ˚ — “girl’s got more secrets than the Restricted Section”

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

— DAY TO DAY

mornings getting dressed for class, doing my makeup in the mirror with my girls, heading to breakfast

✦ ˚ — Prada bag full of magic textbooks as i walk to class, heels clicking on the stone floors. attentive in class, drinking in information like the roots of an orchid

lunchtime, more classes, swapping out the school blouse for a better top and walking to Hogsmeade. having a milkshake at Madam Puddifoot’s and walking out of Honeyduke’s with a bag of shimmering sweets

✦ ˚ — parties with sparkling liquor, music that nearly shatters the windows

returning home in the summer. galas, family events. meeting and learning business, forbidden magic that the walls of Hogwarts can’t see

✦ ˚ — and regardless of season, time, day or place; going to sleep on a mountain of pillows and knowing i’ll wake up tomorrow and do something else important. something more important, every day until i do something world changing

ib : @/solanasreality & @/hrrtshape

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　

[neurospicyu]

🌟 COMING SOON: The ADHD Life Skills Compendium 🌟

Exciting news, Neurospicy U family! 📚✨ We’re thrilled to announce that our highly anticipated book series, The ADHD Life Skills Compendium, is launching this December 2024! Get ready to embark on an epic adventure designed to empower and transform the lives of those with ADHD.

🌟 Unleash the Dynamo Within: The ADHD Warrior's Handbook

Master the basics and discover the true potential within you.

🌟 Focus Fusion: Mastering ADHD with Supercharged Strategies

Learn powerful techniques to boost your productivity and focus.

🌟 Social Sparks: Crafting Brilliant ADHD Connections

Build meaningful relationships and thrive in your social life.

🌟 Brainpower Boost: Harmonizing Mind and Body for ADHD Brilliance

Achieve a balanced, healthy lifestyle with mind-body harmony.

🌟 Executive Wizardry: ADHD Skill Building for Unstoppable Success

Develop essential skills for academic and professional triumphs.

🌟 Parenting Power-Up: Thriving with ADHD as a Superparent

Equip yourself with tools to excel as an ADHD superparent.

Join us on this magical journey and equip yourself with the knowledge and strategies to embrace your neurodivergence and thrive! Stay tuned for more updates and get ready to unleash your inner superhero! 💪🧠

🔗 Follow us and turn on notifications so you don’t miss out on the launch! Let’s conquer ADHD together!

#ADHDLifeSkillsCompendium #NeurospicyU #ADHDWarrior #FocusFusion #SocialSparks #BrainpowerBoost #ExecutiveWizardry #ParentingPowerUp #ComingSoon #ADHDCommunity #Empowerment #ADHDStrategies #BookLaunch2024

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

You know there’s a show very similar to miraculous ladybug in a sense of “kids get granted super powers and have to defeat this villain while being trained by old magic sensei”

I know that description fits to almost everything but there’s a character which has a terrifying similarity to a character to miraculous and miraculous came out two years after this show so take it has you want

The show I’m taking about is “Sendokai Champions” (not blaming you if you don’t know about it since is extremely obscure) and the characters are Chloe Bourgeois (from miraculous but you already know that) and Lon (yes that’s he’s name, bare with me) is from sendokai

Lon appears in the season 2 of the show and is basically like a mix of Luka,Chloe and Adrien (daddy issues,plays the guitar and looks like he’s emo) he always had problems since he was a child with the separation of he’s parents with her mother abandoning him with he’s emotionally neglectful and abusive father which always instigated he’s son into being a figure of control and not trusting anyone

Lon starts has aggressive and becomes the rival of the main character with spiky hair (I’m not talking about all of sendokai and it’s characters because that would be too much and it would also it would bring spoilers) the two have a conquest but are interrupted by the minions of a side villain of season 1 which became the main one in this season, after the minions are defeated and their wishful master comes to tell them the evil has returned, Lon is recruited for he’s skills

After that he’s given powers and slowly starts getting soft and better with a girl of the group which yes starts a love triangle. However has the seasons goes on the two rival only hate each other more and more with Lon taking more control of the group, accidents happen and the main character vanishes himself meanwhile Lon is given a awful advice by he’s father before he abandons him for business making Lon toxic traits given to he’s father return, during the obligatory “tournament” event the main character joins a separate group so they’ll have two teams with good intentions because winning the tournament basically means preventing the main villain from universal domination. But through the tournament the girl decides she prefers the main character but the sensei’s tell her to give him the news after since they sense that could cause problems on the team, however Lon finds a note she made for the main character and discovers he got friendzoned, he try’s to make he’s team use a team technique to defeat the main character while the main character tries the same however the technique needs both to be inspired by the same thing and Lon try’s to make them use their hatred against the main character but obviously both teams fail and because of that Lon is supercharged of magic power from he’s teammates, so he goes insane, traps he’s team mates and try’s to attack the main character but he’s defeated.

They try to see if he’s okey but he runs away, and since the finales are tomorrow and the main villain is next then they have to let Lon for later. After the main villain of the season is defeated Lon gets magical Mcguffin but he has to choose between magical mcguffin to get the power he wants to prove to he’s father or he’s teammates which are trying to save him. He chooses mcguffin and disappears presumably death…

After that there’s a plot twist but I recommend you watching the show, it has animation problems and is not ATLAB in writing but is a lot stronger than miraculous and is not always doing the “will they or will they not?”

So you might see the similarity with Chloe

Bad parenting, rivals with MC and a fake out redemption. The difference is how unlike Chloe this isn’t sudden and has lots of foreshadowing, is not counterproductive with he’s goals like Chloe wanting her mothers attention by being a hero and the show doesn’t treat him has the worst of humanity while also treating him has a comedic relief but he’s treated just has a kid being manipulated by his emotions and the villains which is showcased has something extremely tragic, because it is!

I recommend the show since it handles shipping,characterization and character development better than miraculous. The show is free in YouTube but only in Spanish so there’s that…

So basically, Lon is like Spanish Chloe done right.

That honestly sounds really interesting though.

[jcmarchi]

AI vs AI: How Authoritative Phone Data Can Help Prevent AI-Powered Fraud

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/ai-vs-ai-how-authoritative-phone-data-can-help-prevent-ai-powered-fraud/

AI vs AI: How Authoritative Phone Data Can Help Prevent AI-Powered Fraud

Artificial Intelligence (AI), like any other technology, is not inherently good or bad – it is merely a tool people can use for decent or ill purposes.

For example, many companies use AI-powered biometrics solutions in speech and facial recognition to streamline login processes and enhance the customer experience by replacing tedious PINs, passwords and account numbers. Businesses can also leverage AI to uncover valuable insights from amongst mountains of data to craft personalized customer experiences.

Beyond the customer experience, AI can analyze imaging data in medical settings to increase the accuracy of tumor identification and classification. Likewise, AI is augmenting language learning tools and programs, allowing more people access to life-enriching skills.

Of course, AI is available to not only well-meaning individuals but also malicious ones who commonly employ its capabilities to supercharge their fraudulent schemes.

How Bad Actors Use AI to Enhance Their Scams

Highly sophisticated and well-resourced criminal organizations have already begun to use AI for new and ingenious (or rather, insidious) attack vectors. These fraudsters will train their AI engines with terabytes or even petabytes of information to automate their various schemes, building exploits and scams at a scale unimaginably larger than the capabilities of a single human hacker.

Some hackers will even exploit AI-powered systems that drive better customer experiences through AI-generated deep fakes that target biometric authentication systems. In particular, savvy fraudsters use AI to create deepfake voice clones for robocall scams. Typically, scam calls or SMS texts pose as someone or something to trick the victim into divulging sensitive account information or clicking a malicious link.

In the past, people could usually tell when a call or text was suspicious, but this new breed of deepfake robocalls uses AI-generated clones of people’s voices. The applications of these voice clones are truly disturbing. Fraudsters will copy a child’s voice, pose as kidnappers and call the parent, demanding they pay a ransom for the release of their child.

Another common method of scammers when using AI voice clones is calling an employee and impersonating that person’s boss or someone of seniority, insisting they withdraw and transfer their money to pay for some business-related expense.

These schemes are prolific and effective, with a 2023 survey from Regula discovering that 37% of organizations experienced deepfake voice fraud. Likewise, research from McAfee shows that 77% of victims of AI-enabled scam calls claimed to have lost money.

Organizations Must Verify Their Customer’s Identity  

The ongoing evolution of AI is akin to an arms race, with businesses constantly deploying the newest innovations and techniques to thwart fraudsters’ latest schemes.

For example, Know Your Customer (KYC) processes allow companies to verify a customer’s identity to determine whether they are a potential customer or a scammer attempting to carry out fraudulent transactions or money laundering. KYC is mandatory for many industries. For example, in the US, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requires financial institutions to comply with KYC standards.

The introduction of AI has made the KYC battlefield more dynamic, with both sides (good and bad) utilizing the technology to achieve their aims. Innovative businesses have taken a multi-modal approach to KYC processes, where AI helps detect suspicious activity and then warns affected customers via text messages.

To prove their identity, customers must provide a form of identification, such as a date of birth, photo ID, license or address. After customers demonstrate they are who they say they are, this multi-modal KYC process then associates a phone number to a customer, which will serve as a digital ID.

The convenience and simplicity of mobile phone numbers make them ideal digital identifiers in the KYC process. Likewise, mobile phones provide businesses with reliable and verifiable data, including the global ubiquity that national registries cannot replicate.

Authoritative Phone Numbering Intelligence

Unfortunately, businesses aren’t the only ones who recognize the value of mobile numbers as digital identifiers. As mentioned, bad actors frequently target customers through fraudulent texts and phone calls. Research from Statista shows nearly half of all fraud reported to the US Federal Trade Commission starts with texts (22%) or a phone call (20%).

In the case of a ported phone number (i.e., it changed from one phone company to another), businesses have no way of knowing if this action was simply a customer switching providers or a fraudster bent on malicious intent. Additionally, fraudsters can use SIM swaps and port outs to hijack phone numbers and use those digital identifiers to masquerade as customers. With these numbers, they can receive the text messages companies use for multi-factor authentication (MFA) to engage in online payment fraud, which topped $38 billion globally in 2023.

Even though SIM Swaps present an opportunity for number hijacking, organizations can effectively combat this scheme by using authoritative data. In other words, while phone numbers are still ideal digital identifiers, organizations need a trusted, authoritative, and independent resource for information about each telephone number to validate ownership. By leveraging authoritative phone numbering intelligence, businesses can determine if a customer is truly legitimate, protecting revenue and brand reputation while boosting customer confidence in voice and text communications.

Enterprises also need deterministic and authoritative data. More specifically, their AI solutions need access to data about each phone number, whether it was ported recently or is associated with a particular SIM, line type or location. If AI assesses that the data indicates deceitful activity, it will require the person to provide additional information, like mailing address, account number or mother’s maiden name as a further step in the verification process. Businesses must also leverage an authoritative resource that continually updates phone number information, enabling AI tools to recognize fraudulent tactics more effectively.

Digital Identity and the Age of AI

The world is more connected than ever, with mobile devices powering this unprecedented interconnectivity. While this connectedness benefits organizations and consumers, it poses significant risks and responsibilities. Moreover, proving one’s digital identity is not as straightforward without a trusted and authoritative source.

In the age of AI, schemes like sophisticated AI-generated deepfakes, voice clones and highly tailored phishing emails further emphasize the need for enterprises to utilize authoritative phone numbering intelligence to empower their AI to protect against fraud. Such efforts will restore customers’ faith in business text messages and phone calls while safeguarding revenue and brand reputation.

[karilayton]

Powerful Benefits of Reading for Kids: How Books Boost Development

Reading isn’t just a fun pastime for kids; it’s a gateway to a world of learning and growth. The benefits of reading for kids are profound, touching every aspect of their development. Here’s why cracking open a book is one of the best things you can do for your child.

1. Fuel for Imagination and Creativity

Books are like magic portals that transport kids to fantastical worlds. When children dive into stories, they imagine new worlds, creatures, and adventures. This creative exercise is not just entertaining; it stimulates their imagination and encourages them to think outside the box. As they visualize different scenarios and characters, their creative thinking skills are honed, setting the stage for innovation and problem-solving in their future.

2. Supercharge Cognitive Skills

The benefits of reading for kids go beyond just imagination. Reading enhances cognitive development by improving language skills, comprehension, and memory. As kids encounter new words and phrases, their vocabulary expands. They learn to follow complex plots and understand characters’ motivations, which boosts their analytical abilities. This cognitive exercise builds a strong foundation for academic success and everyday problem-solving.

3. Emotional Growth and Empathy

Books are a wonderful way for kids to explore their own emotions and understand those of others. Children experience different perspectives through stories and learn about various cultures and situations. This exposure helps them develop empathy and emotional intelligence. By relating to characters’ feelings and challenges, kids become more compassionate and better equipped to handle their emotions.

Kari Layton’s heartwarming tale Crabby Crayon and the Too Blue Day uses vivid illustrations and heartfelt lessons on friendship and acceptance to nurture children’s growth and empathy. The engaging visuals and relatable storylines allow kids to see themselves in Crabby’s experiences, helping them understand and appreciate diverse perspectives. This fosters emotional intelligence and encourages children to build more compassionate and inclusive relationships in their own lives.

4. Strengthen Parent-Child Bonds

Reading together can be a unique bonding experience. Whether it’s a bedtime story or a shared adventure, reading provides a quiet, intimate time for parents and children to connect. This quality time strengthens relationships and creates positive associations with reading. Kids who enjoy reading with their parents are likelier to develop a lifelong love of books.

5. Encourage Lifelong Learning

Instilling a love for reading early on encourages lifelong learning. Kids with strong reading habits are likelier to be curious and eager to learn. This enthusiasm for reading often translates into a love for learning in general, setting them up for academic and personal success.

Incorporating reading into your child’s daily routine reaps numerous benefits. From sparking creativity to enhancing cognitive and emotional skills, the impact of books on a child’s development is truly remarkable. So, open a book and let the adventure begin��your child’s future self will thank you!

[buddhwani]

From Strategy to Execution: How Mediagarh Can Supercharge Your Business

Mediagarh, one of the top digital marketing firms, specializes in creating customized strategies to convert strategic goals into tangible outcomes for educational institutions, making the planning process seamless and efficient. As a leading education marketing agency, it can assist colleges, schools, and coaching centers in achieving their marketing goals more efficiently than ever before with its knowledge and experience.

Understanding the Importance of an Effective Strategy

A successful marketing campaign starts with a well-thought-out strategy for marketing. This includes understanding your intended market, establishing specific goals, and identifying efficient ways to connect with potential customers. At Mediagarh, we begin by conducting a thorough analysis of your company's and your competition to develop a solution specifically designed for you.

Marketing Agency for Schools: Specialized Services Available

Educational institutions face a variety of unique marketing problems when it comes down to promoting themselves. There is a lot of competition, and their audience ranges from students and parents to administrators and educators. Mediagarh is aware of these subtleties and develops strategies that are able to resonate with every segment of your audience to ensure that your message is reaching every segment successfully.

Crafting a Strategic Marketing Plan

When your strategy is set in place, the next step must be to create a thorough marketing plan. The document should outline every tactic and step required to achieve your marketing goals. Mediagarh is a leading company. Mediagarh takes a different approach to marketing by using digital strategies like SEO, content marketing, and social media marketing. email marketing, and pay-per-click ads to accomplish these objectives.

SEO: Expanding Online Visibility

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization (SEO), is a crucial aspect of strategies to market digitally since it allows you to optimize your website and its content to appear higher on search engine result pages (SERPs). As a marketing agency for schools, Mediagarh excels at SEO to ensure that, when prospective parents and students go on the internet for options to study, your school will be on the first page of the search results page (SERPs).

Content Marketing: Engaging and Informative

Content is the key to success in digital marketing. Engaging and high-quality blog posts or articles, as well as other pieces produced by the Mediagarh team of skilled journalists, can position your organization as an expert in the field of education. Through a direct approach to prospective students and establishing trust over time, Mediagarh assists your school to establish itself as an industry-leading thought leader.

Social Media Marketing: Reaching Your Audience

Social media can provide an excellent chance to engage personally with your intended customers. Social media's marketing tactics at Mediagarh seek to attract parents, students, and teachers on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn by creating engaging content, establishing your online presence, and helping to build an engaged online community for your brand.

Email Marketing: Targeted Communication

Email marketing is among the top and most effective ways to reach your market. Emails are a way to communicate with your audience in a personalized manner and are a great way to keep leads engaged, give information on upcoming events, or promote occasions. Mediagarh creates and implements emails that are specifically tailored to the preferences and requirements of the respective target audience members to maximize opening rates as well as engagement levels.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising Delivers Immediate Results

Organic strategies are essential; however, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can provide immediate results. Mediagarh's PPC experts develop targeted advertising campaigns for platforms such as Google Ads and social media to ensure that your ads are seen by the people they are targeting at precisely the right time and drive visitors directly to your site while also generating leads rapidly.

Reputation Management: Establish Trust

The quality of your education's reputation is paramount. A positive image can influence students and parents alike to choose your school. Mediagarh offers reputation management services that manage and monitor your online presence, which includes checking reviews and addressing any negative reviews, while also striving to create positive feedback and maintain its reputation.

Measuring and Analyzing Results (MADRs)

Mediagarh utilizes cutting-edge tools for analytics to track the effectiveness of your campaigns. We give detailed reports on the effectiveness of each strategy. This helps us make informed decisions that maximize marketing campaigns.

Keeping Pace With Emerging Trends

Being ahead of technological advancements is vital to the success of your business, which is why Mediagarh, one of the top Indian educational marketing firms, is determined to continue learning and adapting. Our team of experts is up-to-date on the latest developments in digital marketing and incorporates new methods into our strategies.

Collaboration and communication.

Communication and collaboration that are effective are at the heart of Mediagarh's strategy. We work closely with your team members to fully understand your goals and concerns by providing regular updates and clear communication about the progress of your campaign. Through this process of collaboration, our strategies are aligned with your vision and goals.

Conclusion

Mediagarh is your one-stop source for growth in your business. From strategy to implementation, Mediagarh's broad approach, expert knowledge, and dedication to excellence make us the perfect institution for schools seeking to improve their business strategies to differentiate themselves from their competitors in today's ever-changing education market. As the best education marketing company in India, we ensure your institution stands out and thrives in this competitive landscape.

[hmc7]

Free Resources: Supercharge Your Learning Adventure!

Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of educational information available online? You are not alone! But do not fret, students! This blog article will provide you with three easy-access websites that will help you change your educational path into an exciting and rewarding experience.

As an aspiring educator, I explored these three websites not only to learn why and how they work but also to use them as a medium and resource for educational reasons.

COMMON SENSE MEDIA This website is a friendly compass to navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape. Furthermore, it is an informative way since this non-profit organization helps families understand how to approach technology. But that’s not all, Common Sense Media is a library of comprehensive reviews and ratings of nearly everything digital: movies and television, apps, games, and even books! They do more than review. The valuable information gives parents insight and skills-needed resources.

Do you worry about teen sexting or stranger danger on social media? Get answers and keep up with changes in technology, and discussion around how digital citizenship should best work. Common Sense Media offers a plethora of articles and guides.

EDUCATION WORLD No matter how passionate you might be about your subject of choice, every educator finds themselves burnt out or simply overcome by a creative block. Well, never fear, because Education World is here! This website is a treasure trove of resources for teachers of all kinds, offering thousands of lesson plans, teaching hacks, and classroom activities.

Feeling stuck on how to teach students about responsible online behavior? The template of this website provides a clear framework with learning objectives, discussion prompts, and engaging activities to get your students thinking critically about their digital footprint.

SHARE MY LESSON The magic of Share My Lesson is to provide a vibrant online space where educators from across the globe come together to share their best lesson plans. This free site gives teachers of every kind the ability to upload, view, and use lesson plans spanning multiple subjects and school years.

Has an idea in mind but feel too burnt out to create a whole lesson plan out of blank? Whether you need some inspiration or are just looking for the right lesson plan to edit to suit your needs. Share My Lesson is all you need!

With digital literacy, you have the power to transform your entire education using these three remarkable websites. So, what are you waiting for? Brace yourself to fast-track your education today by choosing how to learn! Sounds appealing?

Here are the website links to get you started: Common Sense Media, Education World & Share My Lesson.

Common Sense Media: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Education World: https://www.educationworld.com/

Share My Lesson: https://sharemylesson.com/

[theaisurf]

Productivity Powerhouses: Harnessing AI to Supercharge Your Daily Tasks

In today's fast-paced world, productivity is key to success. Whether you're a busy professional, a student, or a stay-at-home parent, staying on top of your daily tasks and responsibilities can be a daunting challenge. However, with the advancements in technology, there are now powerful tools available to help us boost our productivity and make the most out of our time. And one of the most promising of these tools is Artificial Intelligence (AI).

AI has been making waves in various industries, and productivity is no exception. With its ability to analyze data, learn patterns, and make predictions, AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach our daily tasks. In fact, there are already several AI-powered productivity tools available in the market, and they are quickly becoming popular among individuals and businesses alike. Let's take a look at some of the best productivity AI tools out there.

1) Grammarly

Whether you're writing an email, a report, or a blog post, Grammarly is a must-have tool for anyone looking to improve their writing skills. This AI-powered writing assistant not only checks for spelling and grammar errors but also offers suggestions for sentence structure, vocabulary, and tone. It even has a plagiarism checker to ensure your content is original. With Grammarly, you can save time and effort in proofreading and editing your work, making your writing more efficient and effective.

2) Trello

Trello is a project management tool that uses AI to help you stay organized and on top of your tasks. It uses a visual board system where you can create lists, add cards, and move them around to track your progress. With AI, Trello can suggest due dates, assign tasks to team members, and even predict potential roadblocks based on past data. It also integrates with other productivity tools such as Google Calendar and Slack, making it a powerful tool for teams and individuals.

Also Read: Best AI Writing tools

3) Google Assistant

Google Assistant is not just a virtual assistant that can set reminders and answer questions. With its AI capabilities, it can also help you manage your daily tasks and routines. You can ask it to schedule meetings, set alarms, and even make phone calls on your behalf. It also integrates with other Google apps, such as Google Calendar and Google Keep, to streamline your workflow.

[pedros01]

Check out this awesome video that shows how keeping your child's spine in tip-top shape can supercharge their health and happiness! They've got a super-skilled crew at Radix Chiropractic who are pros at taking care of kids' spines. They'll keep your little ones feeling fantastic with their safe and effective treatments. Overall, this video is a helpful resource for parents exploring pediatric chiro in Colorado Springs. Watch the video now.

[seodon]

Elevate Your Productivity with Virtual Personal Assistant Services in London

In today's fast-paced world, time is of the essence, and managing it effectively can make all the difference in achieving your goals. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a busy professional, or even a stay-at-home parent, the demands of modern life can be overwhelming. That's where Virtual Personal Assistant services in London come into play, helping you regain control of your time and supercharge your productivity.

The Power of a Virtual Personal Assistant

Virtual Personal Assistant Service London: This keyword holds the key to a more efficient and stress-free life. Let's dive deeper into what a Virtual Personal Assistant (VPA) is and how it can transform your daily routine.

What is a Virtual Personal Assistant?

A Virtual Personal Assistant is a professional who provides a wide range of administrative, personal, and even creative tasks remotely. Unlike traditional personal assistants, VPAs operate from a distance, using the power of technology to stay connected and offer support whenever and wherever you need it.

The Advantages of VPA Services in London

1. Time Efficiency: Time is money, and a Virtual Personal Assistant helps you save both. They handle your everyday tasks, such as scheduling appointments, managing emails, and making travel arrangements, allowing you to focus on the things that truly matter.

2. Cost-Effective: VPAs are cost-effective because you only pay for the hours worked or specific tasks performed. This eliminates the need for in-house employees, saving you money on salaries, benefits, and office space.

3. Round-the-Clock Support: Virtual Personal Assistants can be based in different time zones, providing 24/7 support, ensuring that you can get things done even outside regular business hours.

4. Scalability: As your needs change, VPAs can easily adapt to accommodate your growing demands. You can scale up or down as required without the hassles of hiring or firing employees.

5. Expertise: Many VPAs specialize in particular areas such as social media management, content creation, or bookkeeping. You can access a diverse skill set by hiring the right assistant for the job.

Finding the Right Virtual Personal Assistant in London

Choosing the ideal VPA can be a game-changer. Here are some tips to help you select the right assistant to meet your specific needs:

1. Define Your Needs: Clearly outline the tasks and responsibilities you want your Virtual Personal Assistant to handle. This will help you find someone with the right skills and expertise.

2. Experience Matters: Look for a VPA with a proven track record and relevant experience. Check their references and ask for examples of their work.

3. Communication is Key: Effective communication is crucial in a remote working relationship. Ensure that your VPA is responsive and can communicate clearly and effectively.

4. Test the Waters: Consider starting with a trial period to assess the compatibility of your VPA with your work style and requirements.

Get Started with Virtual Personal Assistant Service in London

In the bustling city of London, where every second counts, a Virtual Personal Assistant can be your secret weapon for staying organized and achieving your goals. Say goodbye to the overwhelm of daily tasks and hello to a more efficient and balanced life.

Don't hesitate to explore the world of Virtual Personal Assistant Service London. With the right VPA by your side, you'll have more time for what truly matters, whether it's growing your business, spending quality time with family, or simply pursuing your passions. Make the most of your precious time and unlock your full potential with a Virtual Personal Assistant in London today.

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[onlineeducation-india]

Unleashing Your Potential: Embrace the Future with an Online MBA

Introduction:

In an era of constant innovation and evolving business landscapes, professionals are constantly seeking ways to stay ahead of the game and unlock new career opportunities. If you're someone who aspires to advance your career without sacrificing your current commitments, then an Online Master of Business Administration (MBA) might be the perfect solution. In this article, we'll explore the incredible benefits of pursuing an Online MBA and how it can empower you to conquer the business world. Let's embark on a unique journey and discover why an Online MBA is the key to unleashing your true potential.

Section 1: Embracing the Freedom of Online Learning

Imagine a learning experience that seamlessly integrates with your busy life, offering you the freedom to choose when and where you study. An Online MBA provides precisely that. With its flexible nature, this educational approach empowers you to tailor your studies to fit your unique schedule and commitments. Whether you're a working professional, a parent, or someone with various responsibilities, an Online MBA allows you to pursue your dreams without compromising on other important aspects of your life.

Section 2: Affordability Unleashed: Maximizing Your Investment

When it comes to pursuing higher education, finances can often be a significant concern. However, with an Online MBA, affordability becomes a reality. By eliminating the need for on-campus infrastructure and associated costs, online programs offer a more budget-friendly alternative without sacrificing the quality of education. This newfound affordability enables individuals from diverse backgrounds to access world-class education and maximize their investment in their future.

Section 3: Boundless Connections: Building a Global Network

One might assume that online education lacks the personal connections and networking opportunities found in traditional MBA programs. However, the digital landscape has transformed the way we connect and collaborate. Through online platforms, an Online MBA enables you to build a diverse and extensive network of professionals, experts, and mentors from around the globe. This interconnectedness breaks down geographical barriers and opens doors to countless collaboration opportunities, fostering a truly global perspective.

Section 4: Unleashing Your Expertise: Specializations for Success

The business world is vast, and each industry demands specialized knowledge and skills. That's where an Online MBA truly shines. These programs offer a wide array of specializations, allowing you to tailor your studies to match your career goals and aspirations. Whether you have a passion for entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, or any other area, an Online MBA equips you with the expertise needed to thrive in your chosen field. Unleash your true potential by honing your skills in a specialization that aligns with your ambitions.

Section 5: Recognized Excellence: Accreditation and Prestige

Choosing the right educational institution is crucial to ensuring that your degree holds value and is recognized by employers. Reputable Online MBA programs are accredited by recognized governing bodies, providing assurance of quality education and industry relevance. When you earn your Online MBA from an accredited institution, you're equipped with a credential that carries prestige and opens doors to a multitude of career opportunities.

Section 6: Powering Your Future: Accelerating Career Growth

The ultimate goal of pursuing an Online MBA is to supercharge your career and unlock new possibilities. With its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical skills, an Online MBA equips you with the tools needed to excel in leadership roles and navigate complex business challenges. Employers value strategic thinking, business acumen, and leadership qualities developed through an MBA program. By earning your Online MBA, you're empowered to propel your career to new heights and embrace the future with confidence.

Conclusion:

In a world where continuous learning and adaptability are paramount, an Online MBA offers a transformative path to success. By embracing the freedom of online learning, unlocking affordability

[she-is-juniper]

Put It Into Practice — Steve Harrington x Reader (chapter four)

Pairing: Scoops Ahoy era Steve Harrington x f!Reader (she/her/hers pronouns, AFAB)

Rating (by chapter): M (Mature)

Summary: “King Steve” Harrington had been the subject of swooning for every girl in their right mind back in high school. But when his sexual dexterity comes into question the summer after graduation, Steve is not about to let his reputation become marred quite so easily. Luckily, Steve is offered the help of his new friend—to give him advice, a few pointers, and maybe a bit of healthy practice…

Word Count (by chapter): 9K

Content: sooo much fluff, very dialogue-heavy chapter (you’re going to love Steve even more than you already have), some angst, some cursing, Steve and Reader finally hash everything out lmfao

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and is not intended to be taken as truth or fact. I do not claim to own Stranger Things or any other affiliated names or fictional events. Other details, such as names, locations, and events, are also fictionalized.

A/N: Hi friends! I'm so excited for you to read PIIP chapter four! I’ve literally never struggled so hard to finish a chapter ever... It wasn’t even necessarily hard to write; I’ve just been beyond wiped out from my new job. I’m on my feet 6-7 hours straight during the day (and getting BANK for it) but it’s been simply exhausting. I find that I have absolutely no mental or physical energy left when I get home to write with the same intensity as I had earlier this summer. So I just wanted to say, I’m really sorry to everyone that I haven’t been churning out as much content in recent weeks 🥺 I still absolutely love writing and I’m excited to continue doing it! But I really really appreciate your patience with how slow/inactive I’ve been ♡ This chapter is verrrrry fluffy and dialogue heavy. It's becoming a bit of a slow burn which I know we all will love 👀 and I pinky promise there's smut in the next chapter!

And as always, PLEASE comment if you enjoyed this, for the love of all that is holy—your powers supercharge me!!—thank u in advance ♥ Love, Juni

chapter one \ chapter two \ chapter three

NEXT CHAPTER TBA (or check my masterlist)

✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷

“Hi, sweetie, how was the fair?”

You glance up at your mother as you close the front door behind you and kick off your shoes. She’s in the living room with a novel in hand, from which she’s hardly looking up to even acknowledge your arrival. In the reclining chair, your father is asleep, and his snores are drowned out only by the background noise of the television.

How was the fair? you think to yourself. Which part? The part where Steve Harrington and I got each other off in the Hall of Mirrors? Or the part where we made plans to sneak out tonight to see each other again?

“It was fun, Mom,” you say instead, as simply and calmly as possible. Inside your chest, your heart races with anticipation. You mentally go through a checklist. Tell her goodnight. Take shower. Pretend to sleep. Sneak out window. 

“That’s wonderful,” she says absently as she turns the page of her novel. 

“I’m going to shower and head to bed, I’m super tired,” you lie as you walk to the kitchen to fill up a glass of water to bring upstairs. It was part of your nightly routine, and you didn’t want her to be suspicious at all. Not that you had any reason to worry. Your mother, as expected, seems completely unsuspecting of your clandestine evening plans. 

 You go to her, kiss her on the cheek, and say, “Night, Mom.”

“Goodnight, Y/N, sweetie,” she says back. As you head up the stairs to your bedroom, you hear her turn off the TV and shake your father awake, telling him it’s time to go to bed.

That’s one of the perks of being the normal, trustworthy teenager of two overworked parents. When you really wanted to break the rules, they wouldn’t even bat an eye. 

You’d always been a good kid, but that’s not to say you havent been involved in your fair share of teenage mischief. You’d simply gotten highly skilled at evading the less-than-watchful eyes of your workaholic parents. It had been all the usual, harmless milestones of teenagehood; underage drinking, going to parties, hooking up in cars. Nothing really out of the ordinary or truly egregious. For a while, the craziest thing you had ever done was sneak onto the roof of the high school gymnasium at midnight to smoke weed with Carol and her rowdy friends during your sophomore year.

Now, a new deed takes the cake; hooking up with Steve Harrington in the Hall of Mirrors at the Fourth of July fair. 

It had been reckless, certainly. And illegal. But the thrill of getting caught, combined with the added tension between you and Steve from your prior argument, had made it all the more exciting.

You and Steve are now more than just friends.

You could have stayed in that Hall of Mirrors with Steve forever, just holding him and kissing him among the endless reflections, blissfully poking fun at each other for the mess you’d made in between your thighs and on his hands. But the sound of the security guards nearby had spooked you, and you and Steve hastily exited the attraction and booked it to the parking lot, giggling even more uncontrollably as you ran. 

Neither of you had wanted to go home. But while Steve’s parents couldn’t have cared less about what their son was up to, you knew you had to at least make an appearance at home so your parents wouldn’t worry. And that was where the plan was hatched; you would tell them goodnight, convince them you were going to bed, and then sneak out your bedroom window. Admittedly, you’ve never snuck out of the house before, but there was a first time for everything.

You make haste in showering and shaving, keeping a close eye on the clock; Steve had promised to pick you up at 10:30. Every time you think of him, your heart gives a little flip. His doe brown eyes, his playful smile, his stupidly perfect hair. Now that your feelings for each other are more or less out in the open air, you’re bristling with new and exciting feelings for him. 

Before going to your room, you wrap a towel around your chest and pad downstairs to check on your parents again. Their bedroom door is closed with the lights off, and your father’s snoring continues. Perfect . You tiptoe back up to your room and scour your closet; what is one supposed to wear when sneaking out of the house to meet up with her no-longer-just-friends friend? You consider another sundress, but you settle on a pair of jeans, a tee shirt with the logo of your favorite band, and your trusty white sneakers—the ones you remember Steve complimented once, a few months ago. Back when you had been just friends.

What are you now? Will he want to talk about it tonight? Or will tonight just be for… well …?

You don’t know what to expect from Steve tonight. He had been hesitant yet enthusiastic to help you sneak out of the house— “You don’t have to do that if you don’t want to, but fuck, Y/N, I’d love to see you later,” he’d said. And of course, how could you have said no? 

And for you, you’re eager to continue where you’d left off from your earlier escapades in the Hall of Mirrors… but you’re also itching to talk about what’s going on between the two of you.

It’s nearly 10:30. You stuff a few pillows haphazardly under your comforter in the shape of a sleeping body, on the off-chance that one of your parents would check on you during the night. You turn off your lamp, and with a breath of courage, you heave open your bedroom window and creep onto the roof over the back porch. The summer night’s air had become slightly brisk, rife with adventure and youth and the residual smell of gunpowder from the fireworks at the fair. You carefully meander down the lattice wall above the garden and land with a gentle thud. Smiling to yourself, you make your way out the side gate, squinting down the quiet, suburban Hawkins street.

Right on time, a car pulls around the bend, flooding the street with its headlights. Steve’s BMW. You smile a bit nervously and saunter over to it.

As you approach, Steve steps out and leans on the driver’s side door, looking you over with excitement. And then, as if he’s come to some realization about your approach, he rushes over to the passenger door and opens it grandly. “Your chariot awaits,” he says with mock formality.

“Ah, so now it’s your ‘chariot’?” you call out. “Robin told me you always call it it your ‘Babe Mobile.’”

“Hey, watch your mouth,” Steve jests back, rubbing the burgundy exterior. “She’s a she, not an it. She’s sensitive. And besides, is Robin wrong? I mean, you’re a girl, and you’re about to get in the car, sooo…I’d say the Babe Mobile’s living up to her title.”

You laugh. Steve’s smile grows with yours. Witty banter, just like old times, back to normal. It’s as if the whole argument from earlier never happened. 

“You’re such an idiot,” you giggle as you hop into his car. You’ve ridden in it a few times before, mostly during hangs with Robin to and from work or each other’s houses. You could never forget the first time you ever heard Steve’s god awful singing voice; it was at the beginning of the summer, and he had taken you and Robin out to pick up pizza and VHS movies after a long work week, and he had turned the radio on and started belting along with Don’t Stop Believin’ in a manner that more closely resembled a dying cow than a human voice. You remember the way you and Robin had groaned and laughed at him before joining in with your own voices. It was one of those summer memories that would last forever.

And looking over at him now, as he hops into the driver’s seat and gives you an easy smile, you wonder if this will be one of those forever summer memories, too.

“So you managed to sneak out without them noticing?” Steve asks as he shifts the car into drive and accelerates down the empty street. 

You nod. “Not that they care enough about me to notice, anyway,” you replied lightly.

But Steve’s brow furrows a bit. “Oh, come on, I know your parents care about you.”

Knowing Steve’s rocky relationship with his parents, you realize you probably shouldn’t have exaggerated like that. “They do,” you amend, “but they’ve both been so busy lately that I’m probably the last thing on their mind. All that to say, we’re in the clear tonight.” 

“Good,” he smiles as he drives. You notice he’d showered too, his hair still slightly wet, no longer perfectly styled in his usual way, although you decided you almost preferred seeing it damp and slicked back so casually like this. And he’d changed clothes from the attire he’d been wearing at the park. He’s wearing a new pair of jeans and a yellow crewneck sweatshirt that fits his torso perfectly. He smells like soap and linen and spice. 

The radio’s on, softly playing Drive by The Cars—what a perfect song for this moment—and Steve’s got the windows rolled down so the summer breeze ripples through the car, bringing a slight chill to your arms. 

“Where are we going?” you ask, realizing then that you hadn’t discussed a plan for where or what, just when he’d pick you up. 

“You’ll see. I’ve got something fun we can do together.”

“Oh?” you ask with a suggestive tone.

Steve glances over at you and grins before drawing his eyes back to the road. And then he bites his bottom lip, and you can’t tell if it’s from excitement or nervousness. “Do you like surprises?” he asks.

“Sure,” you say apprehensively.

Steve chuckles at your tone. “Wow, what didn’t sound convincing at all.”

“I kind of hate surprises,” you admit.

“I figured,” he laughs. “Alright. Well, in that case, we’re going out into the woods. There’s this field I know—”

“The woods?” you interrupt him. “A field?”

“Don’t freak out,” he says. “I’m not going to, like, murder you or anything.”

“Oh, whew, that’s a relief,” you say sarcastically.

“It’ll be fun. I’ve got a buddy who works at the fireworks tent off of Randolph,” Steve explains. He gestures to a medium sized box in the backseat. You twist around in your seat to peer inside; it contains about a dozen assorted fireworks.

“I guess it is still the Fourth of July,” you muse. Setting off fireworks with Steve in the middle of the woods did, actually, kind of sound like fun. 

“We gotta be pretty smart about it, though,” Steve admits as he pulls onto Cornwalis—one of Hawkins’ main road—and starts driving north. “The cops in this town are like hawks about fireworks this year. But I know a place where we won’t get caught.”

Won’t get caught… You wonder if his words have a double meaning.

“Alright, alright,” you drawl, deflecting from the sudden wave of awkwardness that washes over you. ”But if we get mauled by a bear in the middle of the woods and there’s no one around to hear us scream, I’ll kick your ass in the afterlife.”

Steve laughs. “Don’t worry, I’ll fight it off any bears for you.”

You give him a level look. “You? Fighting off bears?”

He gives you a face like it’s obvious. “Uh, yeah. Easy peasy.”

“Oh, really? With what weapon?”

“Well…I’ve got a baseball bat spiked with nails in my trunk, so I think I’d probably use that,” he says.

You stare blankly. It had obviously been a joke up until now, but this didn’t sound made up. He’d answered too quickly. “You have a baseball bat spiked with nails in your trunk?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Why?”

“...You don’t wanna know.”

You let it go. “Alright, I guess that makes me feel a tad bit safer.”

“Good.” Steve’s hand that was resting on the gearshift inch has now inched across toward you. You notice now that his pinky is barely brushing against the denim on your thigh. You feel butterflies in your stomach. “You changed clothes,” he notes.

“I did.”

“Looks good,” he compliments.

You smile shyly, letting his compliment wash over your senses. “You changed, too,” you said. “I like it.”

He looked pretty good a few hours ago with his hair all messed up and his cum all over his hands, too, you think to yourself. But you suppose the yellow sweatshirt look would do, too.

“We were kind of a mess back there,” he says with a sheepish grin, almost as though he had read your mind. 

“We were,” you agreed—both in the literal and the metaphorical sense. His acknowledgment of the incident brings back vivid memories of it. You crossed your legs and squeezed your thighs together absently.

There’s a lot more that you want to say, but you don’t really know how to say it or where to start, so you and Steve drive in a comfortable quietness down the road. Eventually, he passes all the establishments in the central part of town—the schools, the arcade, the library—and continues on into the woodsy north neighborhoods.

 When I Wanna Know What Love Is by Foreigner comes on the radio, Steve shifts his hand from the gearshift so it’s next to yours on the passenger seat. You flip your palm over in a silent invitation, and he takes it in his own, squeezing his fingers. The action feels overwhelmingly intimate and romantic. You realize you’d be content just holding his hand like this forever. His touch brings you a strange feeling of reassurance, despite the uncertainty of your relationship thus far.

Hawkins looks strange tonight, the trees taking on a carefree sort of quality beyond Steve’s headlights. Maybe it’s the excitement from the earlier festivities still resonating through the town. Maybe it’s the thrill of sneaking out, despite the fact that you’re an adult and graduated from high school. Or maybe it’s just your imagination, overactive from the adrenaline of being with Steve again. You stick your other hand out the open passenger window and flatten your palm against the wind, riding the wind with your hand like a surfer on a wave, just like you used to as a kid.

“Hey, Y/N?” Steve asks after a while.

“Yeah?”

“I just wanted to say… I’m, uh, I’m really sorry.”

You turn to observe his expression; his brows are furrowed as he glances between you and the road. “Why?”

“I’m just sorry for, uh, what happened back…there. I wish it hadn’t happened.”

Your heart thuds, and you fight to mask it. Did he mean the argument, or the hookup? When he hesitates to continue, you struggle to think of a response suitable for either meaning. “Things did get a bit, uh, heated, didn’t they…”

He squeezes your hand again. “I really shouldn’t have raised my voice at you,” he says. “Or said, like, half the things I said. I really wasn’t saying what I was meaning, like, at all.”

So he is talking about the argument. You squeeze his hand back before releasing it, and then you’re wringing your hands together in your lap. “You and me both, bud…but I’m sorry, too. I took things way out of proportion.”

“Well…” He combs his newly freed fingers through his hair. “I could see why you were mad at me.”

“I wasn’t mad at you—I’m not mad at all,” you reassure him. “It was just…the whole situation.”

The whole Steve-going-down-on-you-but-then-weirding-out-when-you-offer-him-a-blowjob situation. And the Steve-kissing-you-in-the-hallway-and-then-completely-avoiding-you thing. And then the Steve-never-got-over-Nancy-Wheeler bombshell that Robin had dropped. And then there was the whole Lisa-R-coming-onto-Steve-in-front-of-you ordeal.

Jesus, no wonder you had snapped back there.

“A lot had happened,” you continue, “and I was just…overwhelmed, I think. But I’m not mad at you, Steve.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay,” he says with relief. 

“Are you mad at me?” you ask in turn. 

“No, not at all.”

“Okay.”

There’s a lot more you want to say but you can’t find the words to express your thoughts. Looking over at Steve, you imagine he’s feeling the same way. It means a lot to you that he apologized about the argument, but the whole thing still doesn’t sit right with you. You know a solid, honest conversation is in order for tonight…but it might take a few fireworks before either of you will be able to find the right words.

“I’m in the mood to light some shit on fire,” you say, segueing into a lighter topic.

“Oh, yeah, well, you know what they say,” Steve remarks. “When the goings get tough, the tough…light shit on fire.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely the saying,” you say sarcastically.

“I think we should get that printed on a shirt and everything.”

“ You’d definitely wear that shirt,” you jest.

“Oh, absolutely,” he says. “Unironically. That’d be a dope ass shirt.”

“Yeah, maybe for pyromaniacs.”

“Hey, you’re the one that said you’re in the mood to light shit on fire. So you started it.”

“It was your idea to bring fireworks in the first place, dingus.”

“Don’t call me that,” he groans. “I already hear ‘dingus’ enough from Robin. She’s rubbing off on you too much.”

“What else am I supposed to call you when you’re being a dingus, then?”

“Uh…how about, just ‘Steve’?”

“Okay, Just Steve, but I think we’re gonna need to get you a better nickname.”

“Oh, yeah?” he says with a mocking tone. 

You pretend to ponder. “Hmmm…maybe doofus?” 

“That’s literally the same thing as dingus,” he complains.

“No, it’s different.” You gaze at him with mock seriousness. “Doofus. Yeah. That works perfect.”

Steve rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling under his guise of annoyance. “You women and your nicknames.”

“Well, I can’t always call you baby, I gotta have some variety,” you giggle.

You’re referring, obviously, to the way you and Steve had called each other baby —at first, in your basement last week, and then most recently in the Hall of Mirrors. In both instances, the term of endearment had kind of just…slipped out. But it felt right, in those moments. But baby was just one of those nicknames reserved for cringey couples in love. And, on occasion, for the casual hookup. But only in that context and never outside the bedroom.

Or basement. Or Hall of Mirrors. Whatever. 

Point is, you’re wondering when you and Steve would call each other baby again. And under which context…cringey couple, or casual hookup?

Right on cue, Steve’s expression changes, and he admits quietly, “I like it when you call me that.”

“Really? You do?”

“Yeah. Don’t get all weird about it, though” he says defensively. The pout on his face is so irresistible.

“Don’t worry, I won’t, baby,” you tease. He groans. You laugh at him. “Sorry, sorry.”

“No, I like it… Maybe a little too much.”

You can’t fathom the meaning of his words, but he doesn’t elaborate. You deflect the awkwardness again, shifting back to your teasing tone of voice. “I’ll use it sparingly, I promise. But doofus?” You shove his arm playfully. “I’ll be using that one a lot.”

“I really thought you were more original than that,” he taunts. “I mean, c’mon, stealing Robin’s M.O.? What a copout.”

“I’m sure Robin would be honored.”

Your conversation is halted by a police cruiser driving past in the other lane. Steve straightens behind the wheel, although the cruiser passes without a hitch. You snicker at him.

“Right here, he’s right here, cops!” you jeer. “The pyromaniac with the high-maintenance hair!”

He runs his hand through it self-consciously. “You love the hair,” he says conclusively.

You couldn’t lie. “Yeah, I do,” you sigh, taking a chance and running your own hand through it. His face softens and he leans into your touch. It’s becoming far too addicting to touch him. “Why do you think the police will care about us setting off fireworks, anyway? They set off a bunch at the fair.”

“Noise ordinance, I think,” he responds. “You know how the cops in this town are. They got nothing better to do. They’ll impose any rule to keep the ‘meddling kids’ off the streets,” he adds with air quotes.

“Well, if we’re gonna have to drive out the middle of nowhere, where no one can hear…I guess we’ll should just make the most of it, then, yeah?”

You didn’t intend to sound suggestive, but as the double meaning of your words settles between you, Steve fights a grin. You can’t help but smile, too, knowing full well that you and he are thinking of the same thing. 

Steve pulls off the main road and onto a short residential street that ends in a col-de-sac, beyond which extends a dense-looking patch of woods. He parks along the curb at the end of the street and moves to get out until he sees that you’re frozen in your seat.

“You ready?” he asks.

“Are we…hiking?”

“Just for a bit.”

“We’re hiking…through the woods…in the pitch black…at 10 pm…?” 

“Don’t worry, I came prepared,” he grins, pulling out a flashlight and clicking it on. Even then, you still feel apprehensive. Steve touches your hand softly. “It’s not very far, I promise.”

“What is ‘it’, exactly?” you ask as you hesitantly exit the car. And then it hits you. “Oh my god,” you realize. “Please don’t tell me you’re taking me to Skull Rock.”

Skull Rock is this infamous makeout spot in the woods. In fact, rumor has it that Steve practically invented it. Gross. The idea that he would take you where he’d taken countless other girls makes you scowl at him.

But Steve just laughs. “No, no, we’re not going to Skull Rock. That’s in the other direction.”

“Wouldn’t you know,” you mutter.

He just gazes at you endearingly like he finds your anger adorable. “C’mon, trust me. There’s a huge clearing, just north of Lover’s Lake. It’s just a few minutes walk from here. Just follow me, okay? It’s really cool. You’ll see.”

He gives you a warm smile before locking the car. As soon as the car’s headlights go off, the scene around you and Steve becomes engulfed in darkness, save for the dim yellow streetlamp and the moon on the horizon. Steve hands you the flashlight since he’s holding the box of fireworks. You try to keep it steady as he leads the way into the woods, where the cacophony of summer insects and birds swells like a nocturnal symphony.

After a few moments—and at the sudden hoot of an owl that makes you jump—you finally say, “Steve, not to be dramatic, but who do you think will be speaking at our funerals when we inevitably die tonight from an angry bear?”

“We’re not going to die,” he reassures you with a laugh. “But…I guess if we did, Robin would probably do a pretty decent job at a commemorative speech. And Dustin. Probably your parents—”

“I didn’t need to hear that,” you groan, tightening your grip on the flashlight. 

“You asked!”

“I’m just saying, it’s not too late for us to turn around and grab that spiked baseball bat you were talking about.”

He waves his hand dismissively. “If anything comes for us, I’ll just show them my super slick ninja moves, and they’ll get scared and run away.” He attempts a really bad roundhouse kick on a nearby tree, muttering, “Ow.”

“Loser.”

“Hey, there’s a new nickname.” He straightens and adjusts his grip on the box. “Wasn’t that hard being creative with it, huh?”

You know he’s trying to soothe your nerves about being in the forest at night, and it’s working, but only a little bit. “This better be worth it,” you mumble.

“You know me, would I ever take you somewhere that’s not guaranteed to be super cool?”

“There was that one time you made me and Robin meet you behind the mall to look at a satellite in the sky because you thought it was a UFO.”

“It was totally a UFO!” he retorts.

“Satellite.”

“...Fine, whatever, but what if it was a real UFO, and you and Robin missed out on it? Then you would have really been pissed off at yourselves.”

“Ooh, yeah, and maybe then the aliens would have abducted you and we would never have to hear you mope about working at Scoops Ahoy ever again.”

“Oh, come on, if I got abducted by aliens, you’d miss me and you know it.”

“Don’t flatter yourself too hard, Harrington.”

“Just stating the facts.”

At last, you can see a break in the trees ahead. Once you and Steve emerge, you realize you’ve reached the town’s power lines, a series of tall metal poles connected by soaring wires. The trees have been cut back width-wise from the power lines, leaving a huge clearing in the woods as far as the eyes can see in either direction. Above the huge poles, the moon is bright and almost full, washing everything below it in a pale blue light. 

“This way,” Steve says as he leads you under the lines and across the clearing. You keep right behind him for another few minutes as he follows the path of the power lines. After a few minutes, you see a large divet of clearing out to the right, where the trees have been cut back even further. As you near, you realize it’s a wide field, perhaps an old patch of farmland, beyond the horizon of electrical wiring. The field is about a football field across in length and width, with no poles or trees to obstruct it. Peculiarly, at the other end of the field is an old flatbed truck.

“Wow,” you note, looking around with your flashlight. “How did you know this field was here?”

“Tommy and I found it a few summers ago,” Steve replies. “We used to skip school and come out here to smoke, drink, hit golf balls in the woods, do stupid shit like that.” He leads you across the field to the old pickup truck.

“Do I even want to know how this got here?” you laughed. 

“It’s Tommy’s uncle’s,” he explains, slapping the roof of the truck with a metallic thud. “Basically just scrap metal at this point. It doesn’t run anymore. But” —he grins at you as he sets his box on the truck’s bed— “This is where we’ll sit to watch the show. Best seat in the house.”

You try once and fail to hoist yourself up onto the open truck bed, which just gives Steve an excuse to help you up onto it with his hands on your waist. His close proximity means that you can smell the cologne on his neck. You make the mistake of meeting his eyes as he lifts your hips onto the truck, and you think to yourself that it should be illegal for a boy to make you feel this delirious. 

Steve doesn’t remove his hands from your waist right away when you’re finally sat on the truck bed. He keeps his hands there, his fingers pressing curiously into your skin through your shirt as he situates himself between your legs, which are now dangling on either side of his body. He looks so good from below you, his body outlined by the dim flashlight, his teeth glistening, the slightly nervous expression on his face. Oh my god , you think as he suddenly leans in, and you fear—fear?—he’s going to kiss your lips. But he’s much too far down for that, so instead he kisses the top of your thigh. First the right one, then the left. And then, casual as ever, he backs away, grabs a firework and a lighter from the box, and says, “Time to light shit on fire, baby.”

Your mind still spinning, you just choke out, “Okay.”

He trots out into the open field with his supplies. You follow his path with the flashlight, and when he realizes where you’re shining the light, he turns to you with a playful expression and places his hands on his backside. “Don’t look at my ass!”

“How could I not? It’s right there.”

He tries covering it with the firework in his hand and you snicker. Once he reaches about fifteen paces away from the truck, he turns toward you, gives you a cheeky grin, and sets the firework in the ground. Once he has it lit, he sprints back and launches himself like an energetic child onto the truck bed beside you. You giggle even more. 

The firework launches into the air and bursts into golden stars. The whish-boom is so loud that the birds and crickets stop for a second. 

“Cool,” you whisper. 

“Another one!” Steve announces. He repeats the process, trotting out to the field with a firework, lighting it, and then speeding back to the truck to propel himself onto it beside you. You and he both look up to watch it in the sky. 

“You know,” you say after the boom of the firework—red and green this time— “you don’t have to sprint back over here every time.”

“But I wanna sit next to you to watch them go off,” Steve says. 

Your heart swells, and because you don’t know what else to say, you respond, “Okay, fine, doofus.”

He nudges your shoulder with his before hopping down to repeat the process again. He lights firework after firework, coming back each time to sit right next to you to watch it explode in the sky together. It’s really quite endearing of him, even though he’s starting to pant with the exertion of running back and forth. You’ve not seen this side of Steve before tonight—so silly, free-natured, smiley, with almost a boyish sort of energy. But you love it. 

Some of the fireworks are the typical ones that launch into the air like a rocket and explode in a circle; some crackle like a massive sparkler, illuminating the field in rivulets of golden light. One firework even launches a multitude of glowing stars that spiral into the air and dissolve. You and Steve make conversation about them, commenting on your favorite colors and patterns, making jokes with each other. Before you know it, he’s down to the last two fireworks in the box.

“Okay, so this one’s me… And this one’s you,” he says, designating one of the cylinders for each of you—red for him, blue for you. 

“Are you gonna light them both at the same time?” you guess. 

“Yeah, and whoever’s goes higher, wins.”

You scoff. “Oh, it’s on.”

“That’s exactly what a loser would say.”

“Wait,” you say, scowling at him. “How will I know you’re not cheating by lighting mine after yours?”

“Because…” —he pulls out a second lighter from his picket and waggles his brows— “You’re gonna light it yourself, at the same time as me.”

“Hmm. Seems fair. And what does the winner get to do?”

“Oh, by winner, you must be referring to me.”

“Don’t get so cocky, Harrington. You’ll regret it.”

“When I win,” he says, leaning in threateningly toward your face, “I get free chocolate chip cookies for a month from you at work.”

“I already give you free chocolate chip cookies,” you complain. “And you already give me free ice cream. That’s a stupid reward.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” Steve admits, tapping his chin. “…How about…” His gaze grows devilish. “Loser has to take off their shirt.”

You look around wildly. “In the middle of the woods?!”

He shrugs. “Not like there’s anyone out here to see.”

“That’s so not fair. You’re a guy . It’s completely different when you take off your shirt.”

“Hmm, sounds to me like something someone who’s scared of losing would say. Are you scared? Is that it?”

“No,” you huff with a competitive smile, rubbing your arms. You think but don’t say aloud that you’d tear your shirt off for him right here right now if it means you’d continue where you’d left off in the Hall of Mirrors…but now you’re determined not to lose this game. “I’m not scared. You’re going down, Harrington.”

He looked smug. “Hmm, we’ll just have to see about that, you dork…”

You follow Steve out to the middle of the field, the two of you shoving each other with playful competitiveness. You crouch down side by side, and Steve counts down from three. When he reaches one, you hold the lighter up to the fuse at the exact same time as Steve, and the two of you fall back, wringing your hands with anticipation. 

The fireworks shoot off together, in two broad arcs that at first seem to repel each other before arching back and crossing paths. The red explodes first, followed by the blue, which soars high into the air before bursting. 

“Ha!” you cheer, jumping up and down. “You lose!”

Steve clenches his fist and sighs, “Shit.”

“You know what that means, Stevie boy…”

You mime taking off your shirt with a suggestive face. Steve huffs a dejected sigh and pulls off his yellow sweatshirt and the white tee he’s wearing underneath in one swift movement. He looks good, of course, but mostly he looks absolutely pitiful with his bare shoulders sagging and the look of sheer defeat on his face. You can’t help but giggle at the way his plan had backfired. 

You jump up on the truck bed again, this time helping Steve up by giving him a hand for leverage. The fireworks show had served their purpose at dissolving whatever residual awkwardness had still remained from your argument with Steve earlier at the fair. You feel elated, now, even as the echo from the thunderous fireworks has subsided and the quiet stillness of the night has returned in full force. And as Steve situates himself beside you—even as he balls his sweatshirt up in petulance and throws it at your face like a child—you wish you could bottle this feeling up forever. 

“Gotta say, ‘Loser’ looks pretty good on you,” you jest, giving him a once-over with your eyes. The light from the flashlight, which you had propped against the side of the truck bed, was enough to illuminate the details of his torso. His chest hair, the hollow of his throat, the trail on his tummy, his lean shoulders. 

“That was actually my plan all along, so joke’s on you,” he pretends to boast. 

But the bravado of your earlier banter seems to fade like the smoke from the fireworks in the evening breeze. What is left between the two of you is a strange, mutual sort of buzzing…the hyper-awareness of his body next to yours, his familiar clean fragrance, the way his leg dangles off the truck bed so close that you can feel it brush against your skin. He’s utterly alluring. And something in his eyes indicates that he feels the same about you. 

You switch off the flashlight and sit in comfortable silence beside Steve for a few moments. The sounds of the forest resume their serenade, and the afterimages of light in your eyes from the fireworks start to fade. As you adjust to the dark, a new source of light catches your attention. 

“The stars,” you exclaim quietly, gazing up.

Steve follows your gaze, and the two of you watch in awe for a long time. There seems to be a million times more stars out tonight than any other old night in Hawkins, despite the moon on the horizon. Perhaps it was just that you’ve finally become aware of the stars again long enough to sit and observe them. Perhaps it was a message from the universe or something cheesy like that. But for whatever reason, the sky is truly dazzling tonight. 

“Do you wanna know a secret?” Steve says after a while. You nod your head, and he continues. “I…used to be a Boy Scout.”

“No way.”

“Yeah. For a few years.”

“Why’d you quit?” you wondered. 

Steve shrugged. “My parents got busy, so they couldn’t take me to meetings anymore.”

“That sucks.”

“It’s whatever.” Steve lies on his back on the truck bed, heaving a sigh. “I didn’t really like it much anyway. But I did get my Astronomy Badge before I quit.”

“Steve.”

“What?”

“Please tell me you’re not about to point out the constellations right now for me like we’re in some cheesy John Hughes movie.”

“What? No.” He smiles. “Ew. No. I would never do something that sappy.”

“Of course you wouldn’t.”

A breath of silence. “But, let’s just say,” he says, “for the sake of the argument…that we actually are in a John Hughes movie…”

“Oh no.”

“And if we were… I’d probably lean in close, like this…” He leans his head closer to yours and points to the sky. “And I would show you the star Vega…and there’s Altair…”

“Oh my god, Stevie, so romantic,” you say in a mocking voice.

“Here—” he takes your hand in his and manipulates your fingers so you’re pointing now. And he shuffles himself closer to your head so you could share his line of view. “So there’s the Big Dipper…and if you follow the star right here on the corner and draw a line…you’ll find the North Star.” He tilts his head towards you and smiles. “But it would all just be a ploy, a plot device.”

“A plot device for what?”

“For the boy to get close enough to the girl so he could kiss her.”

Out of nowhere, he leans in toward you, still smiling, and plants a single kiss on your lips. Although your mind reels, you manage to keep your composure at the feel of his warm lips.

“Or something like that,” he whispers. “I dunno. John Hughes movies are kinda cheesy, aren’t they.”

“Kinda?” you echo, giggling. “That was the cheesiest thing you’ve ever done.”

“You loved it though, didn’t you.”

You did love it. “Steve Harrington, you are such a cliché,” you joke. 

But the joke doesn’t go over very well, it seems. He hesitates, and then the energy changes a bit. He lets his hand fall with yours but doesn’t let go of it. “Do you think that, for real?”

“What?”

“That I’m a cliché.”

You blink at him in the darkness. “I was just joking, I promise,” you reassure him. 

“I know, it’s just… Someone told me that before, a long time ago. And I’ve thought about it ever since.”

“Someone told you that you’re a cliche?”

“Well, granted, I kinda was , back then.” He scratches his head. 

You ponder that. “Was it…was it Nancy?” you guess. 

Steve nods. “Yeah—how’d you know?”

“Just a guess,” you say. Steve and Nancy had been an unlikely pair when they had first gotten together. Nancy was always quiet and kind, smart, never dreamed of stepping out of line. Steve was always loud, brazen, handsome, dripping with charm and wealth, too cool for school—and too cool to give most people the time of day. Of course, though, they both seem to have changed drastically since those days.

You’re curious to know more, but you decide against asking him. It isn’t your place. Instead, you say, “I don’t think you’re a cliché, Steve. Anything but, really. I think you’re pretty…extraordinary, to be honest.” You squeeze his hand and look over at him, before gesturing up to the sky. “And I actually really like hearing about the stars from you, jokes aside. Every girl secretly loves the cheesy romantic stuff, deep down.”

It’s probably the most candid you’ve ever been about your feelings toward him. And it felt good to say it aloud, but you feel shaky with adrenaline now. 

“I knew you couldn’t resist a good ol’ romantic stargazing moment,” Steve grins.

“You got me.”

Steve sighs deeply again. “I don’t really wanna be that person anymore…the person Nance said was a cliché. I’m…” —he shifts uncomfortably— “...I’m not proud of a lot of things I did back then.”

You wonder what he meant by that. “That was a while ago,” you reassure him. “You can get a fresh start now that high school’s over.”

“Yeah, there’s just a lot of things I wish I had done differently, though.”

“With…Nancy?” you ask softly.

You can’t see it, but you can tell by his voice that he’s frowning. “Yeah, but just…overall. I was kind of a dickhead… And with Nance, I felt like a better man when I was with her. But I was still… I guess I get why she broke up with me, is all. She definitely deserved better than me.”

“I feel like you’re not giving yourself enough credit,” you respond with genuineness. “I mean, there was a reason you stayed together for almost a whole year, right? Relationships are…they’re two-way streets. And I’m willing to bet you were probably a really good boyfriend to her.”

“I got better, I think…” Steve seems to come to his senses, then, as if he realizes who he’s talking to and what he’s been talking about. “God. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring that up. That was really shitty of me—”

“No, no, it’s okay. It’s okay. I promise.”

He squeezes your hand and brings it up to his chest. You’d almost forgotten he still isn’t wearing a shirt; his bare skin feels warm against your hand. There’s a reinstated moment of silence between you two, and yet, a thousand thoughts swim around in your brain.

Carefully, you break the silence again. “I’m glad we’re talking about it.”

“Yeah, but I just know how it feels when you have to listen to someone complain to you about their ex.” He laughs humorlessly. “I mean, at this point, I’m just being pitiful. It was six months ago, and she’s moved on, and I’ve moved on, too. I mean…” He rubs your hand with his thumb. “I mean, I wanna move on.”

“Listen,” you say. “I can tell you really cared about her, Steve. And that you still do. And…I can tell it still hurts. And that you’re still grieving it.” You roll over so you’re on your stomach, propping yourself up with your elbows so you can look at him in the moonlight. “And I want to be here for you. But I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

“But Y/N…” Steve brushes your hair out of your face. “I like you. A lot. I really, really like you.”

It’s the first time you’ve heard him say anything so definitive. Your face heats and you smile to yourself. “Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“For a while I really wasn’t sure that you did,” you admit.

“You’re a doofus. Of course I fucking like you.”

“Well, I don’t know! I mean…god, I was so confused, Steve. I thought that you did, but then you, like, ignored me for a whole week.”

“Yeah, I’m an idiot.” He runs his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Y/N. Things just got really… real for me all the sudden, last week.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if you knew this or not, but I…hadn’t really been with anyone since Nancy. Not seriously. Not until…you.”

So Robin had been right. Of course she had. Was Robin ever really wrong about anything? You need to start giving your mutual friend some more credit, you realize.

“You haven’t?” you ask.

“Nope. That’s why I freaked out in your basement last week…and ignored you for a week…and then blamed it on you. Wow. I really fucked this up already, and it hasn’t even started yet.”

You lean down to kiss his arm gently. “You didn’t fuck anything up.” Steve shivers at your touch; you realize then that the temperature has dropped. “You can put your shirt back on if you want,” you giggle.

“Thanks,” he whispers and sits upright to pull his tee shirt back on. Not the sweatshirt, though. “Do you wanna wear this?” He offers it to you.

“That’s okay,” you decline, although the night air has brought goosebumps to your arms.

“Don’t be silly, your hands are freezing.” He nudges you with the sweatshirt until you give in and pull it on over your head. It smells so deliciously good. “It looks good on you,” he compliments.

“Thank you, Steve.” You shimmy next to him again; he stretches out his arm like a pillow for your head. Being this close to him feels like heaven. 

“I should be the one thanking you,” he murmurs. “You’ve been nothing but patient and forgiving to me, even if I don’t deserve it.”

“You deserve it, dummy. And for the record, I really like you too.”

He shivers again, and you snuggle closer to him. With the arm that’s nestled under your neck, he plays with your hair absently. “I don’t want you to think that the stuff with Nancy changes anything between us.”

You don’t say anything at first.

He stirs beside you. “Y/N?” he prompts.

“What…exactly… is between us?” you ask him.

You’re thinking back to the stupid rules you and Steve had set for each other back in the basement last week. Rule Number Two, stay friends no matter what. There’s nothing you fear more than losing Steve as a friend. Which is why the idea of being more than friends terrifies you as much as it excites you.

“I don’t know,” Steve replies with a smirk, “but I’m down to play it by ear if you are.”

Play it by ear. “That doesn’t sound half bad. But…Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“I get the feeling that it’s not really just about Nancy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just mean… All summer, you always joked about how you’re a washed-up version of the Steve Harrington you used to be. I don’t think you’re washed up… I think you’re pretty amazing as is. But I don’t think you really think you’re washed up either. I think you’ve come a long way from who you used to be. And you should be proud of that. But I also get the sense you feel a little lost…like you don’t know who you are if you’re not the same Steve Harrington you used to be.”

There’s a breath of silence as Steve shifts beside you. “Damn, alright, Sigmund Freud.”

Yikes. You probably shouldn’t have said that much. “I’m sorry… That was really out of line for me to say, wasn’t it.”

“No, I mean…you’re not wrong. I guess I don’t really know who I am anymore.”

“There’s no rush to figure out who you are.”

“But, like, I don’t even know what I like, or what I’m good at.”

“I could tell you one thing that you like and that you’re good at,” you say suggestively. “...Sorry, bad joke.”

But he laughs and kisses you again, out of the blue. It’s a shallow, almost chaste kiss that still manages to steal your breath away, but before you know it, he’s trying to roll on top of you, planting kiss after sweet kiss on your parted lips.

“Hey,” you laugh. “We were…having…a conversation.”

“It can wait.” Steve pins you against the truck bed with his body, attacking you over and over again with his lips. Oh, how you’ve longed to feel his body weight atop yours like this. Each kiss brings a feeling of indescribable lightness, like the feeling of a giggle bubbling up from your belly, like the drop of a roller coaster, like gravity has gone away. 

As much as his pecks bring you joy, you long for that heavy feeling you got in the back hallway of the mall when he kissed you as if his entire life depended on it. So, right when he’s no longer expecting it, you push Steve’s shoulders off of you and roll on top of him, trading places. His eyes are wide in the moonlight, and you plan a kiss above each one, on each of his eyelids. 

“Kiss me like you mean it,” you command.

“I do mean it.”

“Then prove it.”

Steve snakes his arms around your back and holds you securely as he pulls you down to kiss him deeply. Fireworks, just like the ones from earlier, seem to pop off between your bodies, and you’ve never felt so irrevocably his until this very moment.

“See, I told you, you are good at something,” you murmur when he finally breaks away.

“How can I make a career out of this?” Steve feels up and down your body with open palms and an expression of sheer reverence.

You laugh and brush his hair from his face. “There are plenty of careers you could have,” you say seriously.

The conversation from earlier resumes. “Yeah, but…” Steve’s lips purse in thought. “It just feels like, while everyone else was figuring out who they were in high school, I was stuck trying to be what everyone else thought I should be, and I didn’t let myself explore who I wanted to be.”

“Well…What were some things you were good at in high school?”

“Nothing,” he insists. “I sucked at every subject.”

“Did you suck, or did you just not try?”

“...Okay, fine. I didn’t try. But I didn’t really care about school anyway. It never interested me. Still doesn’t, really. Like, I am not looking forward to community college.”

“Okay, well, what were some things that you did find interesting?”

“...Sports…parties…”

“I mean, we can work with that. You’re a people person, Steve. You like people. And you’re good with them. And from what Robin told me, you’re good with the kids, too,” you add with a jab to his side. He twists away and scowls.

“Yeah, I know, my only friends for the last part of high school were a gang of middle schoolers. Tell me that’s not the most uncool thing you’ve ever heard.”

“Actually, it’s not. You’ve got a heart for the youngins; so what?”

“Shut up.”

“Okay, I’ve got a good direction for you.”

“What is it?”

“...Little league coach.”

“Actually, that doesn’t sound too bad.”

“It was either that, or ‘Stay-At-Home Dad.’”

“...That doesn’t sound too bad, either.”

You laugh and kiss both corners of his mouth. “I don’t really know what I want to do either, for the record.”

“Yeah, but you were at least good at school. Like, weren’t you telling me that you got into Purdue?”

You did get into Purdue, but there was a distinct reason why you weren’t going in the fall…that reason being money, primarily. “I still don’t know what I’m doing with my life, though,” you insist. 

“Is it bad if I say I’m kinda glad you’re not leaving for college in August?” he smiles shyly. “We get to spend more time together.”

“No. Not bad. I’m glad, too.” You had deferred your acceptance to community college so you could work full-time for half a year. And the idea of spending as much time as possible with Steve during that time was more than a little exciting. You kiss his lips once more before rolling off of him, resuming your position in the crook of his arm. “I’m just saying, you and I have time. There’s no rush.”

“To figure out what we’re doing with our lives, or to figure out what we are?” Steve asks.

“...Both.”

“You’re right.” Steve kisses your head beside him. “Hey.”

“Hey what?”

“...I know what happened back there at the fair was kind of a lot… Really sexy, don’t get me wrong...”

“Really sexy,” you agree with a giggle.

“But is it okay if we take things a bit…slow?” he asks. “Maybe, like…warm up to the rest?”

You nod understandingly. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

“Okay,” he sighs in relief. “Good. Maybe in the meantime…we could go on a date. Like a real date.”

“Are you asking me on a date, Steve Harrington?”

“Hell yeah I am,” he says. “We’ll do the whole shebang. The fancy dinner, the movie. I’ll get you some roses and shit.”

“Now that’s cliché,” you laugh. “But I kinda love the idea.”

“Friday night?”

“Pick me up at 7?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He gazes down at you. “But…is it okay if I kiss you again?”

“I’d be upset if you didn’t.”

And so he does The novelty of the feeling of his kisses is starting to fade, but the bubbly feeling inside your stomach remains. You could kiss Steve Harrington like this all night long—nothing more, just kisses, laughing with each other, and the stars. Simple as that.

And that’s exactly what you do.

✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷✷

A/N: Helloooo! Yayyy, they finally had an honest conversation LMFAO. I’m dying to hear your thoughts about it! Please note that I write fanfiction for free; my only request for repayment is a genuine expression of your thoughts, opinions, likes/dislikes, and predictions about the story. Whether it’s simply a “Wow, I loved it!”, a keyboard smash, a series of convoluted thoughts in the tags, or even a full-out review, please know that any and all feedback is welcome!

Much love ❤︎ from Juniper

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[oceanstone]

Self-Help Books

Productivity

Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins

No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline by Brian Tracy

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

Unreasonable Success and How to Achieve It by Richard Koch

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Little Black Book by Otegha Uwagba

Time Management in 20 Minutes a Day by Holly Reisem Hanna

Write it Down and Make It Happen

The 12 Week Year

The 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

How to Begin by Michael Bungay Stainer

Physical Health

WomanCode: Perfect Your Cycle, Amplify Your Fertility, Supercharge Your Sex Drive, and Become a Power Source by Alisa Vitti

Mental Health

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) by Don Miguel Ruiz

Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach

The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook

The Inner Child Workbook by Cathryn Taylor

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig

The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves by Curt Thompson

The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor

ADHD

You Mean I'm Not Stupid, Lazy, or Crazy?! A Self-Help Book for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder by Kate Kelly and Peggy Ramundo

Women with Attention-Deficit Disorder: Embrace Your Differences and Transform Your Life by Sari Salden

What the ADHD Brain Wants—and Why by Dr. Ellen Littman (pdf)

Finally Focused: The Breakthrough Natural Treatment Plan for ADHD That Restores Attention, Minimizes Hyperactivity, and Helps Eliminate Drug Side Effects by Dr. James Greenblatt

* Living with ADHD: Simple Exercises to Change Your Daily Life by Thom Hartmann

Thriving with Adult ADHD: Skills to Strengthen Executive Functioning by Phil Boster

Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn't Designed for You by Jenara Nerenberg

Screwed Up Somehow But Not Stupid, Life with a Learning Disability by Peter Flom

Trauma

Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker

Polyvagal Flip Chart: Understanding the Science of Safety by Deb A. Dana

Taming Your Outer Child: Overcoming Self-Sabotage and Healing from Abandonment by Susan Anderson

My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem

Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve by Stanley Rosenberg

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsey Gibson

@complextraumarecovery bookshelf

Healing Developmental Trauma by Lawrence Heller

Waking the Tiger by Peter A. Levine

The Pocket Guide to Polyvagal Theory by Stephen Porges

Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection by Deb Dana

Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman

Call of the Wild: How We Heal Trauma, Awaken Our Own Power, and Use it for Good by Kimberly Ann Johnson

Trauma and Memory by Peter Levine

Stephen Porges work

Nurturing Resilience by Kathy Kain and Stephen Terrell

Relationships

Women Who Love Too Much by Robin Norwood

Break Your Addiction to a Person by Howard Halpern

Addiction to Love: Overcoming Obsession and Dependency in Relationships by Sudan Peabody

Journey from Abandonment to Healing by Susan Anderson

The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitive Relationships by Patrick Carnes

The Power of Attachment: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships by Dr. Diane Poole Heller

Conscious Loving: The Journey to Co-Commitment by Gay & Kathlyn Hendricks

Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller

Love is a Choice: The Definitive Book on Letting Go of Unhealthy Relationships by Thomas Hemfelt

Strange Situation: A Mother's Journey into the Science of Attachment by Bethany Saltman

Gaslighting by Stephanie Sarkis

Boundaries by Anne Katherine

Models by Mark Manson

Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Tawwab

Why Does He Do That? by Lundy Bancroft

I Want This to Work by Elizabeth Earnshaw

The Adult Psychotherapy Homework Planner

Me, You, Us: A Book to Fill Out Together by Lisa Currie

The Will to Change by bell hooks

Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendricks

Wired for Love by Stan Tatkin

Games People Play by Eric Berne

The Chemistry Between Us by Larry Young

Men Are From Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray

Cats Don’t Chase Dogs by Kara King

Art of Seduction by Robert Greene

No More Assholes by Chantal Heide

Pussy: A Reclamation by Regena Thomashauer

The Power of the Pussy by Kara King

Why Men Behave Badly by David Buss

Safe People by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

The Deep Life

The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks

Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality by Anthony De Mello

Sick Souls, Healthy Minds: How William James Can Save Your Life by John Kaag

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle

The Defining Decade by Meg Jay

Authenticity

The Likeability Trap: How to Break Free and Succeed as You Are by Alicia Menendez

I Thought It Was Just Me (but It Isn’t) by Brené Brown

Career

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

How Women Rise by Sally Hegelsen

Own It: The Power of Women at Work by Sallie Krawcheck

No-Fail Communication by Michael Hyatt

Leadership on the Line by Ronald Heifetz

Purple Cow

Dream Manager

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Quantum Success

Influencer

Decide

Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office

Switchers by Dawn Graham

The Seven Minute Productivity Solution by John Brando

Entry Level Boss by Alexa Shoen

Mindfulness

How to Breathe: 25 Simple Practices for Calm, Joy, and Resilience by Ashley Neese

Money

Unfuck Your Finances by Melissa Browne

Broke Millenial

I Will Teach You to Be Rich

Clever Girl Finance

We Should All Be Millionaires

Parenting

Expecting Better by Emily Oster

Cribsheet by Emily Oster

The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years by Emily Oster

Grief

The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift by Steve Leder