Very important author's note: Hey guys! There are a few important things happening this week that I want to tell you all. First, it's the Mileven week, and I'm participating with 4 prompts that I hope you guys go check them out. Second, it's Comic Con Experience this weekend, and I'm going 3 of the 4 days! My children won't be participating, but there are other panels I want to watch, including the 3% panel (have you watched it already? Go watch it, seriously!). Last thing, I've 2 exams and one narrative to make until the next 5th, so all that put together means that I won't be able to post the sequel before next week. But it will be posted, I promise!

Now, for the chapter, because you all deserve it! :D

November 2, 1986

"I think Holly might have a crush on Will," Mike said on the phone.

"Oh?" Nancy exclaimed. "Evidence?"

"She said to me, and I quote: 'Will should be Luke Skywalker, because he's cute'."

Nancy scoffed.

"That's not having a crush, Mike, that's common sense," she said rolling the cord of the public phone of the dorms around her finger. She could bet her bus money that he was rolling his eyes. "Who were you this year?"

"Han Solo," he answered. "Hol was Yoda, El was Leia."

Nancy hummed. She could form a better theory as to why Holly had chosen Will to be Luke, and it had more to do with Skywalker twins than with who was cute or not.

"The thing was that it kinda fucked with the group's plans, because we wanted to match for the party, all seven of us, but Holly didn't budge. Star Wars doesn't have enough impressive characters, the protagonists list is quite short. So half of us went as Star Trek characters for the Seniors' Halloween Party, and Jenny was Supergirl because she got tired of the costume fights."

"Wow, what was the theme this year?" Nancy asked.

"Heroes and Villains," Mike answered. "But they had this weird rule where no one else could go as villains, like… only a senior could be Darth Vader, or the Penguin, you know? Kinda boring."

"Who organized it? Preston Telles?"

"I guess," he said. "I mean, she is a senior now."

"Yeah, she's been trying to suggest that theme for any party ever since I still was in school, talk about creativity."

"Or persistence," Mike suggested. He was silent for a while and Nancy looked back, smiled to the person behind her. There was more people waiting to use the phone, and she already had used a few nickels. "Something weird happened, Nance. At the party."

"Define weird," Nancy said. "You're in Hawkins, after all."

"You see, only seniors could be villains, but there was this person no one could figure out who as the Riddler? And it made Patty really mad, because apparently she'd been putting her Riddler costume together since always, which is very depressing because it was not good. Seriously, how hard is it to get some green suit, or green spandex and add some question marks to it?"

"Mike," Nancy cut. "Point."

"Right," he answered. "There was a foreign Riddler, Patty P. flipped out, tried to literally rip the person's costume and you won't believe who was underneath the hat."

Mike paused. He paused for so long that Nancy had to add another nickel.

"Well, who?" she asked, as soon as the call came back.

He took a deep breath. She braced herself.

"Barb. Holland," Mike said, pausing between words. "I mean, is this the year of the miracle? She's the third person who shows up after being assumed dead in just four months! Did you know that she was okay? Nancy?"

But Nancy's head was somewhere else, in the dark alley downtown during Labor Day, and the way Barb just showed up out of the blue looking exactly the same and someone else completely at the same time, and the way she just grinned as she greeted. Hey, Nance. As if she hadn't died. As if Nancy hadn't been grieving her best friend for the past three years.

"Nancy?" Mike insisted.

Barb wasn't wearing her glasses that day. Her hair was longer and shinning red.

"Nancy!" he called one more time, and she blinked.

"Holy shit," she said under her breath.

"I know," Mike agreed.

"What did El say?"

"She's nervous, but she won't talk much. But I will try to get something from her, because last time she got like that, there was a breech in the middle of the woods letting a monster come and go."

"Did you try to talk to Barb?" Nancy asked. She had to.

"Lucas is on it," Mike informed. "Nance?"

"Yes?"

"Be careful, okay? If I get any news, I'll tell you."

"You better," she replied. The person behind her cleaned their throat. "I gotta go, baby brother. You take care of yourself, all right?"

"Always do."

They hung up.