Nancy Wheeler to the Rescue
Chapter 2
Just like on their way to the cabin, the Wheeler siblings rode back home in silence. Nancy glanced back from time to time, ensuring that no one was following them. Mike, meanwhile, was in deep thought again.
He still could not believe it happened. Nancy just helped him. No, not just helped him, brought life back in him, when he was in despair, fearing that he would never see El ever again, and the thing was, he could not remember when did her sister did that the last time. And it hurt him. Not to mention he didn't even thank her.
"Um… Nance?" he spoke out, very quiet.
"Yes?" his sister replied, while watching the road as they were once again riding down the streets of Hawkins, which were already less lively as only a bus and a few cars were seen.
"Thank you." Mike told her. Nancy almost lost control of driving when she heard that. She couldn't remember when was the last time he thanked her for something. She could only remember when he kissed her in the cheek, thanking her for attending his and the boys' campaign in which she dressed herself as an elf, but that was a way long time ago. After sometime of silence, she finally replied.
"Your welcome."
The rode for another couple of minutes when Mike spoke out again.
"I'm sorry."
This took Nancy by surprise. "For what?"
Mike at first looked up, but then quickly looked down, though Nancy noticed his teary eyes. "For not being a good bother."
Nancy almost froze when he said this. Thankfully, she was still able to concentrate on the road, but it was clear that she could no longer focus on driving, so she pulled over at the local cinema, which was close, as were the stores and offices since it was the middle of the night.
"Mike, you are…" Nancy began but was cut off by her brother.
"I wasn't an good brother." Mike repeated.
"Who told you that?" Nancy asked him, looking directly at him.
"I know it, Nancy, and you know it too." his voice cracked. "If I was good enough, we wouldn't be fighting…"
"Mike…" Nancy whispered, her heart breaking at his words.
"I missed you Nancy!" he exclaimed, his throat was hurting. "I miss how we spent time with each other."
Nancy's eyes widened, but she knew what Mike was talking about. The teenage girl remembered very well the day when her parents brought her baby brother. She was a 4-year-old toddler, and with wide eyes she looked at the infant with awe and curiosity. Since then, the two siblings were close, even when their parents began drifting even more apart. The two siblings would play together. When Mike was a toddler, Nancy would read him a bedtime story. She was there to comfort him whenever he was sick, was hurt, or when he was bullied at preschool. Whenever he had a bad dream, he would usually come to her, and they would cuddle together.
However, as time passed, both Mike and Nancy grew. Nancy was hit by puberty, she turned her attention to education and boys. Mike soon found friends of his own. The two began to drift apart, rarely spending time with each other. There was an exception when Nancy played one of their Dungeons & Dragons campaign, dressing up as an elf.
They began to argue and insult each other more and more frequently. It was around a year ago, both Mike and Nancy stopped talking to each other, and even if they did, it was either an argument or an insult.
"I miss you too, Mikey." Nancy softly replied, catching the boy off guard as she pulled him into a hug. Both brother and sister held each other in an embrace, tears streaming down their respective eyes.
"I'm sorry." Mike croaked, repeating it again. Nancy pulled his chin up, their eyes locked to each other.
"It is not your fault, Mike" she assured him. "I am to blame too. We used to be very close, only for I getting older and too proud. All I cared was about Steve, while your best friend was out there, in that… that Hell, surviving god knows how, while avoiding that thing that took him… and Barb. Our estrangement could have killed you."
"What are you talking about?" Mike asked in confusion.
"When me, Jonathan, Mrs. Byers and the Chief discovered that the government agents were pursuing you," Nancy took a deep breath. "I was horrified. Especially when we saw them at our home, questioning mom and dad. I feared the worst; that they got you. And when… when we had to contact you, I… I didn't know how! We were so estranged that I had no idea how to get in touch with you! It was Jonathan who knew that you four use walky-talkies."
Mike blushed in shame as he lowered his head too. "Back then we believed that the Bad Men were using you and that we were being lured into a trap."
"I thought so," his sister replied hearing this. She was obviously heartbroken at this revelation. "though I do not blame you. We've drifted apart so far that we can't even trust each other. Even when we reunited, I still let you down. I left you four at the school, pursuing my revenge for Barb, while I should have stayed with you."
"Nance…"
"No, Mike!" she interrupted him. "If me and Jonathan stayed, El wouldn't have disappeared. We would have took her in. And you wouldn't be hurting yourself just like you are right now."
Not saying a word, Mike hugged Nancy even tighter, his face deep in Nancy's shoulder. Nancy responded by hugging him too.
"I love you, Nance." Mike whispered. "I want us to be back together."
"I love you too, little one." Nancy gently called him. "I want that too."
The two siblings held each other in an embrace, releasing all the pain caused by their estrangement. After what seemed to be like an eternity, they released each other.
"Sorry." Mike spoke first. "I was being emotional."
"No, no." Nancy shook her head. "It's okay" she then decided to change the topic. "So, you actually like El?"
Mike froze when her sister asked that question. "Yes… I suppose."
"So you lied to me even if we agreed to tell each other everything?" Nancy asked him in a teasing tone, causing the boy to blush.
"I didn't lie! I was just…"
"Unsure?" Nancy asked.
"Yeah."
"I had the same thing with Jonathan here." Nancy suddenly revealed to him. Mike looked at her with surprise.
"You like him?" he asked.
"More than that, I suppose." Nancy honestly answered. "It's just that, when him and I were looking for Barb, we got close. I saw that he wasn't as what the others at school claimed him to be. He is actually caring, gentle and humble, but also very brave. Especially when we fought that thing…"
"The Demogorgon."
"Yes, the Demogorgon." Nancy nodded.
"But what about Steve?" Mike caught her off guard.
"Steve," she muttered. "I would rather avoid him."
"Did he do something to you?" Mike asked with concern.
Nancy hesitated, but answered. "He called me a slut and wrote Nancy the Slut Wheeler on the movie theatre's bill boards."
"SON OF A BITCH!" Mike yelled in anger so loud that he could be heard even outside the car. "I'm gonna teach that fucker…"
"Mike, stop!" Nancy exclaimed. "What's done is done."
"That asshole insulted you!"
"I know, and I am angry at him for that," she told him. "but he paid for it. Jonathan beat him up well."
"How well?"
"Well, Jonathan got arrested. That's how we got together with his mom and Hopper." Nancy answered.
"He should have broke his spine too." Mike gritted.
"But then he helped us fighting the Demogorgon." Nancy continued her story, earning a shocked look from her brother. "Yet somehow that didn't change him a lot. He may have been nice to Jonathan after that, but apparently he would be antagonising him again. He even suspects that I am cheating on him by sleeping with Byers. I am thinking of breaking up with him. For good."
Mike bit his lip at this. "I know you're sad, Nance, but… I am glad that you're breaking up with Steve."
"You never liked him, didn't you?" she stated the obvious.
"He is a douchebag!" Mike defended himself. "He's stupid, proud, arrogant and a moron!" he then spoke in a much calmer tone. "In fact, that's one of the reasons we were fighting."
"I see your point." Nancy agreed with him. "If I didn't date him, Barb would still be alive."
"What are you talking about?" Mike asked and her sister told him everything. How she went to have sex with Steve while Barb was kidnapped by the Demogorgon. How Steve encouraged her to lie in order to get himself out of trouble. In the end, Mike hugged his sister again in comfort as she finished her story.
Once she wiped out all of tears, Nancy finally started the engine again and the two finally reached the Wheeler residence. Locking the door behind them, the Wheeler siblings found their father sitting in front of the television, as usual. They then found Karen sleeping at the table, with a bottle of wine standing near the half-empty glass. Sharing a look, Mike went to turn off the TV while Nancy put the wine away.
Sometime later, Nancy was once again in her bed. She changed her clothes to her pyjamas, and was about to drift off to sleep when she heard a knock on the door. Looking up, she saw her brother peeking through the doorway.
"What is it?" she asked with concern.
"Can I sleep with you, Nance?" Mike asked timidly. Smiling, Nancy gestured for her brother to come in. Closing the door behind, Mike lied down next to Nancy who embraced him after covering her brother with the blanket they shared.
"Good night, Nance." Mike yawned.
"Good night." she cooed before adding. "Speaking of your walky-talky, can you tell me from what store you got them?"
"Why?" Mike asked, curiosity filling him.
"One for you that you can hide in my room, and another one for El." Nancy answered. Hearing this, Mike smiled. Returning a smile, Nancy kissed him in the head before the two let tiredness take over their minds.
