A/N: I'm going to put a trigger warning for this chapter just to be safe. This chapter includes attempted rape.
"Reagan, I want to see you."
Jonathan sighed as he stared at the closed bathroom door. He waited a few minutes before looking again at his watch. "Come on, Reagan, I know you've already changed. Just let me see you. I want to see you." The boy practically begged. She had been in the bathroom over twenty minutes changing into her costume for the night.
The girl shook her head, looking at herself in the mirror. "No. No. This is a mistake. This is just like last year... God, I can't believe Carol convinced me to dress up like this." Reagan realized, looking at herself in the mirror. She remembered buying the outfit a year ago under Carol's encouragement. "Carol? I thought you said you were dressing up as the main character from your favorite movie." Jonathan said, moving closer to the door.
He put his hand on the door gently,"Reagan... just come out. It can't be that bad." Jonathan assured. Reagan bit her bottom lip, unlocking the bathroom door. She opened the door, letting Jonathan take her in. He suddenly understood why she was so afraid to open that door.
"You wore that last year? In public?" He asked.
Reagan blushed, covering her face. "I know." She rushed out, completely embarrassed. Jonathan shook his head,"No, it's not bad. It's not bad." He said, reaching for her hands. He moved her hands away from her face, meeting her eyes. "You look beautiful." Jonathan told her sincerely. She smiled up at him,"Really?" She asked.
"Yeah." Jonathan said quickly, eying her up and down. He chuckled,"It really doesn't leave anything up to the imagination." He commented with a slight smirk, earning him an arm hit from his girlfriend. "What? It doesn't." Jonathan told her. "I'm not some object to ogle at, Jonathan." Reagan said firmly.
Jonathan leaned down,"I'm only ogling because you're my girlfriend." He brought her in for a kiss, wrapping an arm around her waist. Reagan kissed back, smiling as he moved his lips away to focus on her neck. "And I happen to think you're the most beautiful, prettiest, cutest–" "Jonathan!" Reagan exclaimed out of embarrassment and the boy presumed it was because he was flattering her too much.
However, that wasn't the case.
Bob cleared his throat and Jonathan was quick to get off his girlfriend. Jonathan scratched the back of his neck nervously as his face turned red. "Uh..." He trailed off, not really sure what was the appropriate thing to say to your mother's boyfriend when he walks in on you giving your girlfriend a hickey.
The man shook his head,"I saw nothing." Bob said to the teenaged boy before looking at Reagan. He smiled at her,"You look nice." He complimented. "I love your hair. Looks just like the movie." Bob told her before nodding his head down the hall. "Will's getting ready to go. Come on, I'll show you how to use the video camera." Bob said to Jonathan.
As the man headed off, Reagan looked at her boyfriend and started laughing. "What are you doing? It's not funny." Jonathan argued, still blushing. "What are you talking about, Jon? It's hilarious. But don't worry, I still think you're the most beautiful, prettiest, cutest–" "Shut up." He told her with a smile on his face, grabbing her hand and leading her down the hall to join the rest of his family.
Will turned around as his brother and Reagan joined them. Will smiled at Reagan,"You look amazing. How did you get your hair so big?" He asked her. Reagan grinned, letting go of Jonathan's hand to go over to Will. "My brother." She whispered. "But don't ever let Steve know I told you that."
"So you hit 'T' to zoom in and 'W' zooms back out." Bob instructed Jonathan as the boy held the video camera. "See? Easy-peasy." He said, moving forward as Jonathan lowered the video camera. "Just make sure to turn off the power to save energy there." Bob gently touched the video camera, showing Jonathan how to do it.
Joyce helped her youngest son with his costume. "Listen. Stay close to your brother and Reagan, okay?" Joyce told him, turning him around to face her. "And listen, listen, listen... if you get a bad feeling or anything, you tell him to take you straight home." She said. "You promise?" Joyce asked. Will nodded his head at his mother,"Okay." He said softly.
"Are you ready, bud?" Jonathan asked, moving over to his brother. "Yeah." Will nodded. Jonathan looked over at Reagan,"You ready?" He asked her. Reagan nodded her head at him and the three made their way over to the door. "Please tell me you have a coat." Jonathan realized, eying Reagan's attire.
She looked back at him and frowned,"Sorry. Here's hoping it won't be cold?" She said, a little uneasy, before leading Will to the car. Jonathan frowned, thinking about her interaction with Billy the other day.
"That's not what I'm worried about." He mumbled.
They made their way to the car and Joyce appeared at the front door. "Be safe." She reminded them, her maternal instincts never failing. "I hope it doesn't suck!" Bob called out, imitating Dracula. The man snickered before looking back at Joyce and it was the first time she had realized he had put false fangs in his mouth.
Jonathan rolled his eyes as he got into the driver's seat. "Everyone buckled up?" He asked, looking at Reagan and Will. His brother nodded his head,"Yeah." He confirmed and the car pulled out of the driveway shortly after that.
Little time had passed before Jonathan resumed talking. "I just don't get what she sees in him." Jonathan confessed as he drove away from his house. "What?" Reagan asked, not recognizing immediately what Jonathan had started talking about. "Bob." Jonathan clarified.
"At least he doesn't treat me different." Will pointed out quietly. Reagan frowned, looking at the boy in the backseat. "I mean, I can't even go trick-or-treating by myself. It's lame." He lamented. Jonathan looked at his brother using the mirror,"What? You think I'm lame?" He asked.
"No, but it's not like Nancy and Steve coming to watch over Mike, you know?" Will sighed as they reached the house. Jonathan pulled up and Will's friends were quick to notice. "Will, hey!" Dustin called over, walking up with Lucas and Mike. "Can you honk the horn?" Will suddenly asked and Jonathan couldn't deny him. He honked at his friends and Will smiled. But that smile was quick to fade.
Will began to get out of the car but Jonathan stopped him. "Hey, listen." He said. Will turned back, looking at Jonathan. "Yeah?" Will asked. "If we let you go on your own, you promise to stay in the neighborhood?" Jonathan said. Will grew excited once more,"Yeah! Yeah, yeah, totally." The boy promised. "And be back at Mike's by 9:00." Reagan cut in, looking at Jonathan who nodded in agreement.
"9:30...?" Will tried. "9:00." Jonathan repeated Reagan's original curfew. "Deal?" Jonathan said, extending his hand to the boy. "Yeah. Yeah, deal." Will agreed eagerly, practically jumping out of his seat. "Alright." Jonathan said before extending the video camera. "Hey, Will. Don't let any of your spazzy friends use this, alright?" He joked with a smile. Will smiled as he took the video camera,"Okay."
"I hope it doesn't suck." Jonathan imitated Bob who had imitated Dracula. He earned a chuckle from his little brother but a slight glare from Reagan. "What?" He asked her. "Bob's nice." She argued, a little mad that Jonathan was mocking the man.
Jonathan shook his head, watching his brother join his friends. Reagan's anger diminished when she watched him, however. She knew Jonathan and she knew the only reason he didn't like Bob was because he was so protective of his family.
He looked over at her,"Do you mind going to the party earlier than we planned to?" Jonathan asked. She shook her head,"I just... hope it doesn't suck." She said, using the Dracula voice as well. "See? It's funny." Jonathan pointed out. Reagan chuckled, shaking her head. "No. He put a lot of work into his costume, I think it was sweet." She said. "I think it was a little embarrassing." Jonathan chuckled as he started the car again, driving off.
The party was already in full swing when they arrived. Night had fallen and teenagers were drunk all around Tina's house. Jonathan instantly felt uncomfortable but he tried to remember who he was doing this for. This was Reagan's world, or at least it used to be before he started dating her.
Dating Jonathan Byers had dropped Reagan's social status from a golden girl to a circus freak.
While Jonathan usually thought it was a good thing, because now she was only friends with the people who actually cared about her and accepted her for who she was, he couldn't help but wonder if she missed all of it. The popularity, the parties, and the people.
In his opinion, they were the worst people on Earth, but Jonathan reminded himself that everyone at this party used to be Reagan's friend.
"You okay?" Reagan pulled the boy out of his thoughts as they approached the door. "Yeah." He lied, opening the front door for her. He let Reagan in first before following her behind, taking in the entire sight. Jonathan swallowed a lump in his throat. He had never been to a high school party before that night.
She noticed his expression again and touched his neck. "Jonathan, are you okay?" Reagan questioned, trying to meet his eyes but he wouldn't look at her. "I– I'll be b-b-back." Jonathan let out nervously as he moved away from her, looking around desperately for a bathroom or closet to hide in.
"Jonathan!" Reagan called, remembering he had stuttered that way since they were kids. She suddenly felt terrible for allowing him to think this would be a good idea. Reagan started after him but slammed right into another person which sent her tumbling down onto the ground.
Reagan fell back on the ground, looking up at the person she had bumped into. Of course, out of everyone at that party, she had to bump straight into the person she didn't want to see. Carol stared down at the girl, recognizing the attire. Reagan was wearing the Halloween costume she had worn last year, the one she had bought with Carol.
Carol's face turned red and Reagan realized it was because they were wearing the exact same costume. She hoped the girl wasn't mad but it was pretty clear that Carol was furious. Even though Reagan was wearing the same costume she wore a year ago, she still looked better in it than Carol did.
"Hey, Reagan. Looking good." Tommy stopped to admire Reagan on the ground and his girlfriend whipped her head around to look at him. "We're wearing the same goddamn thing, Tommy!" The redhead yelled at him before looking back down at Reagan. "But she won't be looking so good for long." Carol looked at the drink in her hand before pouring it all over Reagan.
She gasped as the booze was poured all over her. The spiked punch started to stain her clothes red and she frowned. Reagan might feel uncomfortable in the costume because it was revealing but she still enjoyed it. Flashdance was her favorite movie after all.
The girl felt herself being lifted up. Billy hooked his arm underneath her legs and supported her back. "Let's get you out of here." He whispered, carrying the girl away from the scene. "No... no– I can take care of myself." Reagan argued but she chose not to fight against him. She had started crying and was suddenly embarrassed. She thought it would best not to fight the boy because he was helping her and she wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to hide her face as Billy carried her up the stairs.
Billy found an empty room in the house and entered, setting her down on the bed. He turned back and closed the door so they wouldn't be disturbed. "Let me find you a towel." Billy said, looking to the bathroom that was attached to the room.
Reagan curled up on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest as she cried. "I shouldn't have come." She whispered to herself, shaking her head. She felt a towel being wrapped around her. "Why? I was waiting for you." Billy said, taking a seat beside her. Reagan peaked her head out, wiping her cheeks. "Why? Everybody here thinks I'm just some freak... can't imagine they think that of you." She pointed out.
"They don't." He smirked proudly but Billy saw that wasn't helping her. "Carol's just jealous. She'll never be as hot as you." He tried but that still wasn't working with her. Reagan shook her head,"You don't even know me." She decided. Billy shook his head, using the towel to wipe away the booze. "I know you." He stated, meeting her eyes. "I know you're too pretty to cry." Billy said softly.
She had to admit, he was charming. But she wasn't interested. "Billy..." Reagan began, trying to let him down easy but he cut her off. "Shh." He told her, leaning in and pressing his lips against hers. Reagan frowned into the kiss, attempting to push the boy off her but he just wrapped an arm around her. She pushed him,"Billy!" Regan shouted but he didn't stop.
He reached his hand underneath her shirt, climbing on top of her and pinning her to the bed. "Billy!" Reagan screamed. She started to panic as she realized where this was going. She tried to push him off but he kept kissing her neck. "Stop–" "Stop fighting! I know you like me." Billy interrupted her with a smirk on his face. He leaned back down and kissed her. He pulled off the sweatshirt she was wearing and Reagan struggled against him.
"Help! Somebody help me! HELP ME!" She screeched, fearing what would happen if no one heard her. The door swung opened and Reagan looked over, hoping it would be Jonathan or Steve.
Reagan was surprised once again at the sight of Carol. She would've cringed if she wasn't desperate. "Carol, please–" The blonde urged, reminding Carol of years of friendship. "Get off her, you perv!" Carol was quick to shove the boy off of her. "Get out! Get out of my friend's house!" The redhead screeched at Billy. He got off of the floor, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Whatever." He said, looking at the two of them.
"You're both bitches anyway." Billy said, leaving the room. Reagan started crying on the bed again as Carol went to join her. Carol touched the girl's shoulders gently,"Reagan... are you okay?" She asked.
Suddenly they were kids again, unburdened by the whole facade of popularity.
Carol watched as Reagan shook her head and continued to cry. "Reagan?" Jonathan called before entering the room, surprised at the sight of Carol comforting Reagan. He hadn't seen Carol acting that nice to Reagan in a long time. "What... what happened?" He asked, looking at Carol.
The redhead climbed off the bed, walking towards Jonathan. "Listen, freak... don't let her out of her sight next time, okay? Reagan's strong... but she can't fight her own battles. Especially against guys like Billy." Carol told him, frowning as she looked at her former friend. She then left the room, leaving Jonathan alone with Reagan.
He frowned,"Billy?" Jonathan asked but Carol was already gone. He didn't understand what she was saying until he noticed Reagan's shirt was on the floor. "What did he do to you?" Jonathan was angry as he rushed over to Reagan but he touched her softly. She lifted her head up to look at him and he gently brushed away her tears. "It's fine. Carol stopped him before he could do anything." She explained.
"I... I should've never suggested we come here." Jonathan realized, recognizing how bad things had been since they had gotten to the party. He panicked and she nearly got seriously hurt. He held out his hand,"Let's get out of here. I'll take you home. I can stay over if you want." He told her.
Reagan shook her head,"No... I rather be alone tonight. Let's go pick up Will." She whispered and he nodded. He collected her shirt that reeked of spiked punch and he helped her back into it. They left the room slowly, heading downstairs.
It didn't take long for both of them to see the commotion.
"No, no, no." Steve tried to stop Nancy from drinking any more. "Get off!" The brunette snapped at him, clearly annoyed with him. "No, you've had enough, okay?" Steve told her. "Screw you!" Nancy yelled at him, turning back to get herself another drink.
"Nance, I'm serious. Hey. Hey. Hey. Stop. No, I'm serious." Steve stopped her from drinking after she refilled her cup. "Put it down." He ordered when he realized she was still trying to drink it. "No!" She fought against him. "Nance, put it down." He instructed, hoping to help her. "Steve, stop!" She barked at him. "Stop. Stop." Steve tried but he lost grip of the cup, sending the drink flying back at her.
She poured her drink all over her white shirt and Nancy gasped. Everyone exclaimed and Steve frowned. He hadn't intended on that, he just wanted for her to stop drinking before she started hurting herself.
Everyone froze, waiting for her next move. "What the hell?" Nancy looked at him.
"Nance!" Steve tried but she just walked past him towards the bathroom. He followed after her, moving in front to open the door for his girlfriend. Steve closed the bathroom door behind him, not realizing Jonathan and Reagan decided to follow after them. "Nance, I'm sorry." Steve apologized as Nancy wet a hand towel in the sink.
The girl tried to wipe her shirt, too drunk to realize it was a lost cause.
"That's not coming off, Nance." He told her. "It's coming." She argued. He moved behind her,"Come on. Let me just take you home, okay? Come here." Steve said sweetly as he moved beside her. "Let me take you home. Come on." He tried. "You wanted this." Nancy pointed out, frowning as she felt her emotions bubbling up.
Steve shook his head,"No, I didn't want this. I told you to stop drinking." The boy pointed out. "It's bullshit. Bullshit." She snapped. "No, it's not bullshit. Okay? No, it's not bullshit, Nancy." Steve said in an attempt to convince but she just shook her head at him. "No, you." Nancy looked at her. "You're bullshit." She said, hurting him.
"What?" He was taken aback by what she said. "You're pretending like everything is okay. You know, like we didn't... like we didn't kill Barb. Like, it's great. Like, we're in love and we're partying. Yeah, let's party, huh? Party. We're partying. This is- is bullshit." Nancy didn't see that in her drunkenness that she had broken his heart.
He looked at her gently, hurt showing through his eyes. "Like we're in love?" He said, repeating her words. Steve touched her cheek as he stared at her in disbelief. Steve had given his all to her for a year and she was telling him that she didn't love him after all that time.
"It's bullshit." Nancy said and Steve shook his head. "You don't love me?" He asked, wondering if she was going to actually say it. "It's bullshit." She repeated. Steve dropped his hand from her cheek, opening the door and slamming the door on the way out.
The boy bumped into his sister on the way out. Reagan stopped him, grabbing his shoulders because he didn't notice her. "Steve!" She yelled, getting his attention. Steve shook his head, trying to hide how upset he was. "I can't– I can't do this right now." He said and pushed past his sister. "Steve!" Reagan tried calling after him but she looked to the bathroom, realizing he had left Nancy.
She went to the bathroom and Jonathan followed after her. Reagan swung open the door to the bathroom, seeing Nancy who was still trying to clean off her shirt. "What did you say to my brother?" Reagan asked, a little angry. "Reagan." Jonathan warned her, seeing how drunk Nancy was.
"Fuck off, Reagan." Nancy kept trying to clean her shirt until Reagan ripped the hand towel away from her. "What did you say to Steve?" She kept asking. The brunette whipped her head around to look at her. "What the fuck do you want from me, Reagan? You want me to be your brother's perfect girlfriend? You want me to be your perfect best friend? It's bullshit! All of it!" Nancy exclaimed and Reagan frowned at her with tears in her eyes.
"You're drunk, Nancy. You're wasted!" She exclaimed at her. Nancy shook her head,"It's still all bullshit... it's all bullshit. You're not my best friend– my best friend is dead. Barb is dead and it's our fault." She started crying and Reagan huffed, knowing she couldn't leave her like this. She wrapped her arms around Nancy, pulling her into a hug. "It's okay... I know." She whispered. Nancy hugged back weakly.
Jonathan's eyes went wide. "Reagan, I think she's going to–" He tried to warn her but not soon enough. Nancy threw up a little on Reagan's back and the blonde cringed. Nancy pulled away,"Reagan. I'm so–" Nancy covered her mouth and this time Reagan directed her towards the toilet. Reagan pushed Nancy's hair away from the girl's face, holding it back as the girl vomited into the toilet.
Reagan couldn't help but laugh. Jonathan furrowed his brows at her,"Why are you laughing?" He asked his girlfriend. Reagan kept chuckling looked over at him,"I'm doing the same thing I did last Halloween." Reagan remembered that Carol was in this position opposed to Nancy. He shook his head but let out a small smile.
Both of them had helped Nancy get home alright, especially considering Steve was her ride and he had driven off after what Nancy said to him.
She watched as Jonathan helped Nancy onto her bed. The girl was practically falling asleep as Reagan moved over to take her boots off. Reagan set down the girls shoes, turning to watch Jonathan tuck Nancy underneath her blanket. Reagan moved over to the girl's bedside and looked at her in worry.
"Reagan?" Nancy said, opening her eyes vaguely to look up at the blonde. She reached up and touched Reagan's arm. "Get some rest." Reagan whispered and Nancy dropped her hand, closing her eyes.
The two let the girl's room and Jonathan turned off the lights as he closed the door behind him and Reagan. He looked over at his girlfriend,"What now?" He asked, looking at her. "We get my grey sweatshirt from the car and burn it." She suggested as they made their way down the stairs. Jonathan chuckled,"It's puke and alcohol... you could wash it." He suggested.
However, when Reagan looked back at him, he realized she was right. "Or we could just throw it out." He said.
It was late when Jonathan dropped Reagan off at home. She said goodbye to Will and assured Jonathan she would be alright. The girl made her way to her front door, freezing since that she had taken off her sweatshirt and thrown it out. But it was covered in Nancy's vomit and alcohol so it wasn't like Reagan would rather be wearing it compared to freezing.
She opened her front door, entering her house to find her brother still stil up. Reagan heard the boy watching television. She walked over, entering her living room to find that Steve had changed out of his costume. He had the bowls of leftover Halloween candy their mother had passed out to the neighborhood children.
He unwrapped a chocolate bar, biting down into it. She sighed as she moved over, joining him on the sofa. "Are you going to tell me what happened at the party?" She asked him as his eyes were fixed on the television.
"No." He said, his mouth full of sticking chocolate. Reagan frowned at him,"Steve." She urged and the boy finally turned to look at her. Steve cringed when he realized what she smelled like. "Why do you smell like booze and upchuck?" He questioned.
"Your girlfriend." She answered. "Ex-girlfriend." Steve corrected, making his sister frown even more. "Really? Ex-girlfriend? So you guys had a fight, that doesn't mean you–" "She told me she didn't love me." Steve interrupted, confessing what he had been holding back from her. Her eyes shifted,"Steve... Nancy loves you." She argued but the boy simply shook his head. "No. She doesn't. I believe her." He stated. "Steve, she was drunk–" "She meant it."
Steve swallowed the last remaining bit of chocolate in his mouth before shaking his head. "You know what's the worst part? I– I'm still in love with her. She practically told me that she never loved me and I... I still love her so much. This is bad, Wonder Twin. I have never felt this way about a girl before... and of course, the first time I do... she doesn't love me back." He said sadly. "Steve, I'm so sorry." Reagan told him.
He shook his head at her,"Don't be. I know she's your best friend." Steve said. She reached over, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "There's a girl out there, I promise you, who's going to love you for the great guy you are. I mean, of course, this girl will definitely have to be a complete weirdo in order to love you because, I mean, I'm obligated to because I'm your twin sister but you're such a messy and annoying person and we have to admit– you're not the brightest–" "Shut up." Steve said with a chuckle, knowing she was kidding. He still tossed candy at her however and Reagan looked down at the candy. "Thank you." She said, unwrapping a chocolate bar
She stood up from the couch,"Don't stay up too late, okay?" Reagan said. Steve nodded at her, turning back to the television. She wanted to tell him what happened with Billy but she could tell it wasn't the time for it. Besides, Reagan didn't really want to remember what happened. She ate her chocolate, deciding that going to bed what her best option.
"Nine."
"Nine."
"Nine!"
She blinked, looking back over at Kali who was calling her. "What?" Nine asked her, looking at the girl nervously. Kali approached her with a dark look in her eye. "We need to talk about what happened. About what you cost us both." She said but Nine shook her head. "I don't want to talk about this with you." Nine averted her gaze.
"Oh!" Nine jumped back in fear as the illusion Kali put into her head. She blinked in fear at the Hawkins lab orderly but knew to shut her eyes. "It's not real... it's not real... it's not real... it's not real..." Nine kept whispering to herself before opening up her eyes to realize it was gone. She whipped her head around,"Why would you do that to me?" Nine questioned Kali.
Kali stared at her,"Why would you do that to me?" She asked her the same question. Nine blinked, thinking back to when she used her powers on Kali. "I'm sorry." She apologized. Nine studied Kali,"I know you're sorry too... now that we've forgiven each other, can we forget what happened?" She said, turning away once again.
"No. We cannot forget it. You're still scared of your powers... of what you can do. Your powers are a gift, Nina." Kali told her, trying to use a gentle voice so she wouldn't scare her as she got closer.
Nine frowned,"I hate it when you call me that." She said quietly. "Would you prefer me to call you by a number they gave you?" Kali questioned. "Yes." Nine nodded her head a little. "I'll never understand it. You're free of that place... why would you ever want to be reminded of it?" Kali asked.
The other girl turned around to look at her. Nine lifted her arm, pulling down her sleeve to show her the tattoo on her wrist. "I'll always be reminded of it." She pointed out. "Besides... Nine's the only name I've ever known." Nine said and turned away again. This time, however, Kali knew to leave her alone.
She stared at the wall as she heard Kali leave the room and Nine bit her bottom lip.