I hope you enjoy this (edited) chapter! As always, I only own my OC.
After about an hour, we make it to Mike's house with the girl sitting behind him, holding on for dear life. The lights are off in all the rooms but we didn't want to chance any noise our soaking clothes and shoes would make, so we sneak in through the garage and make our way down to the basement.
I wrap the girl in a blanket and sit down next to her, rubbing my hands on her arms to help warm her as she shivers. "Is there a number we can call, for your parents?" Mike asks her.
"Where's your hair? Do you have cancer?" My brother's lack of a filter takes over
"Dustin." I warn, and he throws out his hands.
"I was just asking!"
"Did you run away?" Lucas asks.
I look at the girl and she stares at me, panic on her face. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"Is that blood?" Lucas asks, leaning forward to the red blotch, but Mike slaps his hand away.
"Stop it! You're freaking her out!"
"She's freaking me out!"
"I bet she's deaf!" Dustin leans forward and claps loudly before I can even stop him, the girl jumping into me and then flinching at the contact. "Not deaf."
"Alright, enough. She's cold and scared." I tell the boys, my commanding tone leaving no room for any sort of argument. "Mikey, can you get her some clothes?"
"Don't call me that." He grumbles, but does as I ask, pulling out a dry outfit from the laundry basket and bringing it over as the girl flinches at the rumbling thunder. "Here, these are clean. Okay?"
She takes them and stands up, removing her blanket. Then her hands creep lower, to tug up at the hem of her shirt, and we all jump and stop her.
"Whoa! No, no." I reach down to gently remove her hands while the boys jump away, freaking out.
"No, no!" Mike adds, joining me while Dustin yells,
"Oh my God, oh my God!" Turning around with Lucas and covering their faces.
"See, over there? Th-that's the bathroom." Mike stammers, and I put my hand on the girl's shoulder. "Privacy. Get it?"
"C'mon. I'll check for injuries, okay?" She nods and gives me a small smile, just a lift of her lips, but it's something.
I lead her into the basement bathroom, Mike following us. As he starts to close the door, she panics again and stops him. "You don't want it closed?"
"No." She whispers, finally talking.
Mike starts to perk up, and honestly I'm a little relieved too. "Oh. So you can speak. Okay, well… Um, how about we just keep the door…" they look at each other and slowly close the door so it's open about three inches, "just like this."
The girl nods and I hear Mike walking away. Gently lifting the hem of the girl's shirt, she seems to understand my body language enough to bring it up over her head, the wet fabric landing on the floor with a plop. Her underwear is mostly dry, so I decide to keep it on her as I silently turn her body, taking in any bruises or cuts. She has a couple of purple marks on her thighs, a few on her shoulders, but she doesn't seem to be injured. Not in the way she should be. Her feet are scratched up, though, so I gesture for her to sit on the toilet while I pull some Band-Aids and rubbing alcohol from the cabinet.
"This is going to sting, alright?"
"Yes." She whispers, nodding. I dampen a washcloth with the alcohol and carefully clean the cuts on her feet, closing my eyes as she whimpers.
"Hey, hey." She starts to panic and kicks her legs a bit. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. But we don't want it infected. You could get sick, okay?" She nods and grabs my free hand, squeezing every time I press the cloth to her feet. Finally I put on the Band-Aids as well as a pair of fluffy white socks, then carefully help her stand. We put on the large black shirt and sweatpants with ease, and as soon as we exit the bathroom the boys stop talking.
I gesture for the girl to sit on the couch while Mike sets up a little fort. "So, what's the plan? Should I call the station? I should call the station." I mutter to myself.
"And what, tell them you took us looking for Will? Our mom's will kill us."
"Alcatraz." Dustin backs up Lucas, and I sigh.
"Yeah. Yeah. But honesty, Dustin."
He glares. "It's okay to lie, Veronica. You don't always have to follow that stupid rule."
"I do lie. But not to you, or to mom. We follow that rule so mom doesn't get hurt again." I narrow my eyes at him.
"Yeah, well, this time we're lying to protect our asses."
I glare but choose to focus on Mike. "So, what's your plan?"
"Tomorrow I'll leave for school, then sneak her outside. She'll ring the doorbell, mom will see there's a missing child, and she'll handle it."
I bite my lip and nod, rubbing the three studs on my right earlobe, a nervous habit. "Okay. But if anything goes wrong -"
"Call you. I know." He huffs. I roll my eyes and ruffle his wet locks, then go to the fort where the girl has crawled in.
"Hey. You'll be fine. Okay?"
"Okay." She nods. I give her a soft smile then brush past my brother and Lucas, still pissed at him. I wait for the boys at the top of the stairs, and we go back through the garage to jump on our bikes. We ride together for a bit, until Dustin and I branch off to our house.
I'm still ignoring him when we reach the front door, opening it for him while I grab my duffle.
Thankfully mom still isn't home, so I toss the keys angrily into the bowl and take off my shoes so the wet soles don't mess up her carpet. Dustin tries to talk to me but I slam my bedroom door, irritated.
Doesn't he get it? What lying can do? It builds, and builds, and builds, until suddenly you forget your wife and daughter said they'll come see you at work, and the little girl opens the door to see her dad in between some blonde lady's legs. That's what lying does, it tears families apart, even if they start off innocent.
The next morning is awkward. Mom can tell we're fighting, and attempts to break the tension.
She eventually gives up, reluctantly letting us know that they hadn't found Will. "But that doesn't mean we're giving up, darlings. We'll find him." She tries to sound hopeful, but I can hear the doubt in her voice.
Naturally I'm in a sour mood as I slam the car door behind me, my brother having decided to ride to school on his bike rather than with me. My chest feels heavy. Dustin and I never fight. We argue, but we don't cut down on each other in a genuine way.
His words haunt me as I drive. I'm right, right? Honesty is important. Lying gets you in trouble, no matter how small. It's a slippery slope.
So why do I feel so guilty?
I park my car and get out, leaning with my back against my trunk. Should I even bother going to class? No, right? I should go help Jonathan. Yeah. Jonathan and Joyce and Will are more important right now. I'd tell my mom, whether or not she'd let me go I'd still tell her.
Before I can get back in my car, Barb and Nancy are rushing over to me. "How are you? How's Dustin?" Nancy asks, hands clutching some index cards.
"He's fine. All good. False alarm." I tell her, not mentioning the fact I helped sneak a strange girl into her basement last night. See, I can totally lie. Just not to my family.
"Oh, good."
"What's that?" I ask, pointing at the cards. Nancy furrows her eyebrows while Barb bites her lip.
"You remembered the chem test, right?" Our ginger friend asks, and I blink owlishly.
"I, uh… oh, fuck!" I kick at my tire. "I'm so screwed. Shit, shit, shit!" I yell, scaring off a few students, getting the attention of the rest. I don't usually scream.
"Whoa, it's okay. We'll help you." Nancy pats my shoulder.
"I'm just going to skip. Maybe fake an injury, go to the nurse. Have a pregnancy scare." I tick off my options.
"Will you relax, Smarties? I'm sure you know a few things." Barb tells me, giving me her most calming smile as she leads the three of us into the school.
Her support is unfounded when I mix boiling point with melting point, and completely forget what an ion is because my mind isn't focusing. "Okay, okay. Just breathe. When alpha particles go through gold foil, they become…" I bite my lip and look up at Nancy as Barb reads from the card.
I follow her mouth as it moves silently. "Un...occupied space?" I finally get, both girls nodding at me, Nancy throwing me a wink.
"Good! Okay. A molecule that can -" Before she can finish asking me, Steve walks by and tugs the papers out of her hands, Tommy pushing between us and flicking the back of Barb's neck before I can slap at him.
"Aw, did the Ice Queen forget to study?" Steve teases.
I purse my lips. "Yeah, actually. Brilliant deduction, Harrington."
"See, I would copy off of Nancy. She's got this. You, well, we're all concerned." He mockingly tells me, and I narrow my eyes.
"I can figure it out without cheating, thanks. I'm not you, dumbass." He clutches at his heart.
"Wow, harsh. How's your little brother?"
"Are you asking because you care or because you want to make a smartass comment?" I ask, Barb nervously tapping at my elbow. Besides Jonathan, she's the only other person at school who can pull me away from a verbal confrontation.
"Oh, relax, it was just small talk." He attempts to touch my nose in a condescending manner but I slap his hand away. Steve ignores it in favor of continuing whatever he's trying to bother us about. "Now, onto more important matters." Wow, rude. "My dad's left town on a conference and my mom's gone with him, 'cause, you know, she doesn't trust him." Didn't they just get back? Like, it's well known that Steve's parents are, like, never home since he's always throwing a damn party.
"Good call." Tommy jokes, Steve smiling at him. It's pained, though.
Still, he sends the Wheeler girl a hopeful look. "So, are you in?"
"In for what?" Nancy asks. Oh, my sweet, innocent flower.
"No parents? Big house?" Carol speaks up, leaning on the wall.
"A party?"
"Ding, ding, ding." The other redhead sarcastically quips at Nancy, and I roll my eyes.
"It's Tuesday."
"'It's Tuesday'." Tommy mocks. "Oh my God." Steve slaps at his best friend while the freckled boy and his bitch girlfriend laugh, and I glare at them.
"Come on. It'll be low-key. It'll just be us. What do you say? Are you in or are you out?"
"Um -" Before she can answer, Steve looks over our heads and frowns.
"Oh, God. Look." Carol speaks up, and we all turn around.
Jonathan is at the bulletin board, stapling up the missing fliers we made. My heart tightens.
"Oh, God, that's depressing." Steve adds, and I turn my head, smiling to myself when my blonde ponytail whacks Carol in the face.
"Yeah, well, his twelve-year-old brother is missing, you complete jackass." I look up at him, cold murder in my eyes. "Screw you."
"Should we say something?"
"I don't think he speaks." I turn my head to glare at Carol. "Well, he only speaks to his Freak Queen. Is he quiet when you're screwing, too?"
"How much do you want to bet he killed him?" Tommy quickly asks, and my hands start to shake so I clench them, nails biting into my palms.
"Shut up." Steve scoffs.
Glowering at the three goons, I stalk away. Nancy follows me, which, okay. "Jonathan." I gently murmur, pressing my hand on his shoulder. He jumps and looks down at me, eyes a little red.
"Oh, Ver. Nancy?" He asks, looking at the girl standing next to me.
"Hi."
"Hey." He replies, confused.
Before I can even open my mouth, Nancy starts talking. "I just… I wanted to say, you know, um… I'm sorry about everything." I watch as she turns her head and I do the same, Tommy raising his hand slowly in a half-hearted wave. "Everyone's thinking about you. It sucks."
Jonathan nods. "Yeah."
"I'm sure he's fine. He's a smart kid." The school bell rings, breaking the moment. "We have to go. Chemistry test." Nancy gestures to me, but I'm too busy staring up into Jonathan's eyes.
"Yeah."
"Good luck."
"Jonathan, I can -" Before I can finish, Nancy is dragging me away. I shake her off my arm when we stop at the group. "Get off me."
Nancy gives me a look, like I've suddenly lost all my brain cells. "C'mon. We have to take this test. It's worth, like, a bunch of points."
"A stupid chemistry test is not more important than helping my best friend!" I argue, ignoring the fact Steve and his two friends are listening in. "Besides, I didn't study, so I'd fail it anyway."
I turn my head and see Jonathan walking out, then jog after him. "Smarties, where are you going? Veronica?!" Barb calls after me, and I briefly look back at her, stepping through the hole the students have made for me.
"Cover for me! Say I have, like, my period or something!" I call back, indifference in my voice. "Like, a really bad one!" I add as I open the door and let it slam behind me.
Jonathan is walking to his car. "John!" I shout, and he stops to look at me, confused.
"Don't you have a test?"
"Screw the stupid test. I'm helping you."
"What about your mom? What are you going to tell her?"
"The truth. She's still home. We'll go drop off my car and then I'll go with you."
"I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise, right?"
I pat his shoulder. "Nope. C'mon, Byers."
He shakes his head as I brush past him to get in my car, and through my rear view mirror I watch his beat up vehicle following closely behind me, parking just outside the driveway to my house.
Sure enough, my mom is inside, just finishing getting ready for work. Mews follows her around, hissing in my direction as soon as I close the door. "Dumpling, what are you doing here?" She asks as I dump my backpack.
"I'm going to help Jonathan and Joyce."
"No. You're supposed to be in class!" My mom scolds me. I only turn back around to open the door. "Veronica!"
"Mom, please. I won't be able to focus. You know I won't. I'm sorry, but I refuse to lie to you. Even if you drove me to school I'd sneak out. You know I would. You can ground me, take the keys to my car, I don't care. But I have to help them."
She sighs, knowing it's a lost cause. It's not like I ever skip, anyway. "Oh, alright. But you are on laundry duty for a month! And dish duty!" My mother orders, pre-grounding me.
I grin and rush over to kiss her cheek. "Thank you. I love you. Good luck with the search!"
Jonathan is waiting in his car when I jog over and slide over the hood, my best friend honking in fear.
"Jesus Christ, Ver. Slide on the hood of your own damn car! This one's fragile!"
"Sorry, sorry."
Jonathan rolls his eyes and pulls away from my house, driving into town. It's a silent ride for awhile, the Hawkins scenery passing us by as we continue on to Main Street. "Thank you. For doing this."
"Hey, you're my brother. I'm not gonna leave you on your own, not right now." I clutch his shoulder and he removes one hand from the wheel to pat it.
"You're awesome. You know that?" He asks, and I blush at the compliment. "Are you… are you blushing? God, you haven't done that in years. Not since Adam told you your hair looked nice in the sixth grade."
"Shut up." I bite at his teasing, but I feel a little lighter. "It's just hot in here."
"No, no. You're blushing. Do I not tell you you're awesome enough? Because I can start. Imagine how freaked out the school will be when they see you all bubbly?"
"I'm not bubbly."
"You used to be."
"Yeah, well, things used to be different." I remind him, moving my hand.
After a few moments of silence, he finally responds. "I didn't think you would be, though."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I miss who you used to be. I miss your laughter - your real, loud one, not the quiet shoulder shaking you do. And how optimistic you were, and how enthusiastic you were about life. It was refreshing. It always helped me. And like, sometimes you laugh like that, but it's rare."
"Jonathan -"
"Look, I know life is all about change and shit, but I miss you sometimes. The real you."
"This is who I am. And you should have thought of that before I committed to the personality flip." My tone isn't rough, though. Just resigned.
"Yeah, I know."
"Look, when we get Will back, I'll start to try. Okay? At least with you."
He nods, and smiles at me. "Good. I mean, don't get me wrong, you're a total badass at school. I like not constantly being beat up."
I snort and roll my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Me too."
We keep driving, the ride a little less tense. But it changes when "Should I Stay or Should I Go" begins to play on the radio.
This is their song. Will's and Jonathan's. They would put it on, whenever Lonnie and Joyce fought a little too loudly. On bad days I'd make sure to play it for Will, just to watch him bop his head and awkwardly dance around.
Of course, when we make a turn away from the center of town, I look over at Jonathan in surprise. "Where are we going?"
His hands clench tighter around the wheel. "Lonnie."
"I told my mom I was going to help you!"
"This is helping me." He argues. "Please? You know he's a dick, and I -"
"Yeah, okay." I mutter. "Next time just tell me!"
"To be fair, this was a spur of the moment decision." He defends himself, and I grumble as we pass the "Leaving Hawkins" sign.
I cross my arms and lean back. "Huh. I didn't know you were capable of that."
"Yeah, yeah. Shut up and change the channel."
"Do you even know where we're going?"
He nods. "Yeah. I kept the address in the car. Just in case I ever needed to give him a piece of my mind." Jonathan looks at me. "Now's as good a time as any. Hopefully Will's with him, and this nightmare can just stop."
I'm sitting on a log, hair pulled up into high pigtails and camping clothes on. I watch my dad as he gets the fire going, and Jonathan and Lonnie return from their little excursion, the older man holding a shaking rabbit. "Jonathan, quit being a pussy! You're here to learn how to hunt!"
"What's the problem, Lonnie?" My dad asks, and I frown at the tears rolling down my best friend's face.
"Damn kid won't stop crying. I asked him to do the honors, and the water works started." Jonathan's dad gripes.
"Dad, I can't! Don't make me!"
Lonnie only holds out a hunting knife, a similar one to my dad's. "Act like a man. Stop crying! Robert brought his girl, and she had no problem joining in on the hunt!"
"I'm not Veronica!"
"No, you're not. You wanna grow up a pussy? Huh? Weak? No son of mine will be weak!"
"Mr. Byers, I can show him how to do it." I speak up, my voice small compared to the raging mad man in front of me. He looks down. "So he knows how to do it without hurting the rabbit."
"C'mon, Lonnie. Let my girl show your boy how it's done." My dad adds, patting me on the shoulder with pride.
"Okay. Fine." Lonnie hands me the knife and forces the writhing rabbit into Jonathan's arms.
"Hey, it's going to be okay. We'll do it without hurting him, alright?" I tell my best friend, who nods and sniffs. "With a rabbit, you want to hold right here." I put my hand on the poor guy's head, remembering what my dad taught me. "Then you lift up, quickly." I snap it's head up and break it's neck, the rabbit going limp in our hold. Jonathan is still crying. "I'm sorry." I whisper, then hold up the knife. "I'll show you how to drain and skin it."
"Okay." Jonathan murmurs back.
"See, nothing to it. Quit acting like a baby!" Lonnie yells.
I can't hold in my anger. I look up at the older man and glower. "Kids can cry."
"Ver, you with me?" Jonathan asks, pulling me out of a six-year-old memory.
"Sorry, I was just thinking."
"About what?" We make a turn, and I notice we're getting closer to the outskirts of Indianapolis.
"That time our dad's decided to go hunting together, with us." Jonathan nods, humming to himself. It's an easy moment to remember.
"We were 10. And I cried when Lonnie tried to make me kill the rabbit."
"And I killed it for you."
"And you killed it for me." He smiles, despite the horror we both felt in that moment. "You told him off."
"I'm surprised he didn't come after me."
"And piss off his hunting buddy?" Jonathan scoffs. "Not a chance."
"Our dads suck."
Jonathan actually laughs, a loud boisterous one. "Yeah. Yeah, they really do." He straightens then, when we turn on a road surrounded by houses even more run down than his own. "We're close."
"We can turn around." I offer.
He shakes his head, sending me a smirk. "And miss the chance to call Lonnie a dick to his face? Hell no."
I smile proudly as he makes another turn, and we roll to a stop in front of a house between an empty factory and a construction site. Jonathan stops the car and we get out together, slamming the doors as we go, the rain starting to soak through our clothes.
Jonathan looks through the tiny diamond peephole, then pounds loudly on the door. Inside, I can hear the TV playing music, so clearly someone's home. "Hello?" Jonathan calls.
A few seconds later a girl maybe a couple of years older than us opens the door, loudly chewing her gum. "Yeah?" She asks. "Can I help you?"
"Cynthia?" I ask, remembering the name Joyce yelled over the phone yesterday.
"Who wants to know?" She asks.
"Is Lonnie around?" Jonathan asks.
"Yeah, he's out back. What do you want?"
"To look around." My best friend answers, and we both push past her.
"Hey, what do you think you two are doing?"
"We'll be fast." Jonathan calls back, walking past the kitchen to where the rooms are. "Hey Will? Will!" He calls.
"Will, buddy, let's go!" I add to the mix, and we pound a closed door. It's locked, so we turn to look inside the open bedroom. Nothing.
Just as we're turning to walk back through the kitchen, a man rushes in and slams Jonathan into the wall. "Get off!" Jonathan shouts, pushing Lonnie Byers off of him. The man hasn't changed in a year. Well, actually, he's probably a bigger dick, but whatever.
"Damn, you've gotten stronger." Lonnie compliments, patting his oldest son's chest like it means something.
"Can someone please explain what the hell is going on?" Cynthia asks, coming into view.
"Jonathan, Cynthia. Cynthia, this is Jonathan, my oldest." Lonnie looks down at me, smirking. "And if it isn't little Veronica. You and my son finally dating?"
I wrinkle my nose. "Gross. No offence." I tell Jonathan, who's making the same face.
"Cynthia, this is Jonathan's best friend, Veronica." Lonnie formally introduces us, patting me on the shoulder before I can stop him. "Come here." He lets go of me to pull Jonathan into a hug, but my best friend pushes the asshole away, again.
"Get off me man!"
Lonnie relents, looking at us confusedly. "What are you two doing here?"
"We're looking for Will. Your youngest. Remember him? This tall, brown hair, cute as a button?" I question bitingly.
Lonnie nods, then gestures to the backdoor. "C'mon out. I wanna show you something." Jonathan's dad leads us away from a still-unimpressed Cynthia. There's an Oldsmobile parked in the backyard, and Lonnie throws out his arms in celebration. "Take a look at this beaut. Should've seen it when I got it. Took me a year, but it's almost done." Jonathan ignores his dad in favor of walking around to the trunk and opening it, rifling through. "Really? You want to check up my ass, too?" Jonathan slams it closed. "I'm telling you the same thing as I told those cops, he's not here and he never has been."
"Then why didn't you call mom back?" He asks, walking up to Lonnie.
"I don't know, I just… I just assumed she forgot where he was."
I glower at his back, frosty. "Kind of like how you keep forgetting to send your kids money? Take care of them? See them?" Lonnie turns around, eyes filling with rage. "Glad a damn car's more important than your sons, not like that's a surprise."
Lonnie licks his lips, glaring deep into my soul. It's too weak to make me drop dead, though, let alone submit to his anger. I just glare right back, arms crossed. "You sure he ain't lost? That boy never was very good at taking care of himself."
"This isn't some kind of joke, alright?" Jonathan asks, getting his dad's attention. "There are search parties, reporters…"
"Hopper's not still Chief, is he?" Silence. "Tell your mother she's gotta get you out of that hellhole. Come out here to the city. People are more real here, you know?"
"Yeah. They're real dicks." I mutter to myself, unheard over the construction.
"And then I could see you more." Jonathan shakes his head. "What, you don't think I want to see you?"
"I know you don't." My best friend rolls his eyes.
"See, that's your mother talkin' right there. She even know you're here?" Lonnie turns around. "Does yours?"
"Yes." I lie, because screw this dude.
Lonnie just sighs. "Well, that's great. One kid goes missing, the other one runs wild?" He asks Jonathan. "Some real fine parenting right there. Look, all I'm saying is, maybe I'm not the asshole, alright?"
I shake my head and Jonathan scoffs. He walks towards me, but presses the missing flyer in his father's chest. "In case you forgot what he looks like. Let's go, Ver."
I nod and follow my best friend, sending Lonnie one last scathing look before walking away.
Shithead.
Jonathan drops me off with a promise to call me tomorrow. I kiss his cheek - platonically, any other way would be gross - then jog up to my house. I'm greeted to the sight of my mom cooking dinner. "Oh, good, you're home!"
"Yeah, sorry. It took longer than I thought."
"But you helped them?" She asks.
I nod, and swallow down the gross feeling in my stomach at the thought of lying, or even omitting the truth. "Yeah. I hope I did. Jonathan's going to call tomorrow. Are you going back out?"
"No, no." She shakes her head. "I'm a little tired." I nod and pull her into a hug. "Oh, that's nice."
"Love you, mom."
"I love you, too. Have you spoken to your brother?"
"Not yet, no."
She shakes her head, clearly still concerned. "You two never fight. What's going on?"
I shrug. "A little misunderstanding. But I'll talk to him, tomorrow."
"Good, good. Oh, Barb called. She asked if you could meet up with her and Nancy to study tonight? She said you have a chemistry test soon, and I told them they could come get you around 8:30. Is that okay?"
I shrug. Typical Barb. "Well, she's stubborn. You know she and Nancy won't take no for an answer."
"Excellent. I just want you to do well, hon. Will you be coming home or spending the night with Barb?"
I shrug. "Not sure. I'll pack some clothes, just in case."
"Okay! I'm sure they'll be here soon."
I nod and go to my room, smiling when I see my backpack resting on my bed. A three bars of nougat lay next to the canvas bag. Dustin.
I open my backpack and shove in any clothes I might need, then I'm back in the living room, the 3 Musketeers bars in my pocket. Right on time, too, because someone knocks on the door. My mom answers it, and Barb's taller frame towers over her. She beckons me over and I hug my closest female friend, promising to call my mom the next day. A hug and kiss later we're in Barb's car, driving away with Nancy claiming shotgun.
When I realize we're headed to Loch Nora, the ritzy neighborhood, I groan in realization.
"Shit, we aren't. Please tell me we aren't going to Harrington's stupid party."
"C'mon, Vera. Don't leave me alone with Tommy H and Carol." Nancy pleads, throwing a pout in for good measure.
I shake my head, trying not to let the look affect me. "Barb's here." I point out, nodding over to our driver.
"Yeah, and Barb doesn't want to be alone with them, either." The redhead gripes in the third person.
I narrow my eyes at Nancy. "So I'm not actually going over the chemistry notes? Guess I'll be failing that test."
Nancy scoffs. "You really thought we'd let that happen? I brought flashcards."
Barb hums. "And I have my notes, too. So you can review everything."
"You two want me to study. At a party." I blink.
"It's study or talk to Harrington's pals." Barb reminds me, voice gruff and clearly pissed at Nancy.
"You know, studying sounds fun." I murmur, leaning back.
When we come to a row of, well, mansions, Nancy asks Barb to pull over. "What are we doing here?" The ginger asks. "His house is three blocks away."
"We can't park in the driveway."
"Are you serious?"
"Can't believe I've been lied to twice today." I grumble, and Nancy sets down her lipstick for a few seconds.
"What does that mean? Where did you go."
"Indiannapolis."
"Indiannapolis?" Nancy gasps, Barb raising her eyebrows in surprise.
"Did I stutter?" I ask, arms crossed but tone not nearly as harsh as I want it to be.
Nancy just sighs and turns to Barb. "We're parking here so his neighbors don't see."
"This is so stupid. I'm just gonna drop you off and then me and Smarties are going to study."
"Oh, thank God." I clasp my hands together, perking up.
Nancy shakes her head. "Calm down, Barb. Come on. You promised that you'd go. You're coming."
I lean forward. "Yeah, well, I made no such promise."
"But you're not gonna leave me alone. What if Tommy does something or this ends up being a trick? Who's going to protect me? Us?" Nancy guilts me, and I purse my lips.
"You know, I liked it better when we weren't friends and I could push everyone away."
Nancy smiles. "I know. Come on." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the stack of index cards. "Study."
"You got it, dude." I murmur.
Barb still isn't sold, though. "Nance, he just wants to get in your pants." I gesture my hand to her in agreement, but I'm ignored.
"No, he doesn't."
"Nance, seriously." Our friend finally looks at the ginger, innocence fading away. "He invited you to his house. His parents aren't home. C'mon, you are not this stupid."
"Tommy H and Carol are there."
"Tommy and Carol have been having sex, since, like, seventh grade." Barb points out, and I wrinkle my nose and move my head back in disgust. Because yeah, it's obvious, but no one wants the image of that rolling around in their brain. "It'll probably be just, like, a big orgy."
"Hard pass."
"Right?" We high-five.
"Gross."
"I'm serious!" Barb tells her, laughing a little.
"Alright, well… you two can be my guardians. Make sure I don't get drunk and do anything stupid." Barb and I watch as Nancy takes off her sweater and shirt to change her top, and Barb makes a face.
"Is that a new bra?"
"No!" Nancy attempts to lie, but we give her identical looks of disbelief. She simply rolls her blue eyes and tugs on her red and white striped top, covering it with her blue wool coat.
We all get out and make the walk to Steve's house, and I occasionally scruff up the white toes of my converse, still irritated.
We walk up the driveway to the big red door and Nancy timidly knocks. It's too quiet, though, and I'm irritated, so I bang on it a few times. "What?" I ask, adjusting my bag.
"Chill."
"I am chill, Nance. I'm the Queen of Chill."
"So act like it. Study." I grumble under my breath but do as she says, Barb letting out a small laugh. Seconds later the door is pulled open, and I look up to see Steve standing with a hand on his hip, a wide smirk plastered on his stupid, handsome face.
"Hello, ladies." Then he looks between the two taller girls, warm brown eyes zeroing in on me. "Well, if it isn't the Ice Queen of Hawkins. Tired of your lonely ice castle?" He tries to bait me.
So I put on my innocent smile, the one I use before a verbal match. To my delight he straightens a bit, backing up. "Glass houses, Harrington." I gesture to his mansion, then smirk up at him, mockingly repeating Carol's earlier words. "'No parents. Big house?'"
His eyes darken a bit, but he chooses not to comment further. Instead, his billion-dollar smile appears.
"Well, come on in. Party's out back."
Nancy throws me a warning look as we follow him through the house, but I only narrow my eyes. He started it. He always starts it.
Tommy and Carol are standing by the pool, looking too cool for school. They wave at us in their usual "we're better than you" way, and of course Carol just has to say something to me when I sit at the only other pool chair available - unfortunately next to Steve - and immediately flip through Nancy's cards. I use my backpack as a pillow as I lean back to study.
"How was playing hookie with the freak, Veronica?" She asks, batting her eyelashes. "Did you manage to look for him in between a few quickies?" I roll my eyes and pay no attention to her. Oh, right. Ions are atoms… molecules… whatever... that have a net electric charge thanks to gaining or losing electrons. Cool. Awesome. One step closer to not failing Kaminsky's stupid test. "What, he screw you so hard you can't hear? Hello?"
"If you don't shut up I'll force these cards down your throat and watch you choke on them." I sing out. "It may actually improve your voice. When you talk, it sounds like nails scratching down a chalkboard. Did you know that?" I look up and fold my legs under me, chewing my lip in thought. "No? Well, now you do."
I go back to my studying, smiling as Carol huffs. "Whatever."
In a molecule of CH4, the hydrogen atoms are spatially oriented towards the centers of… tetrahedrons.
I'm shaken from my studying by Carol's screams, only to look up and see Tommy attempting to throw her in the pool, laughing hysterically. Modern English's "I Melt With You" plays on the boombox as Steve walks back to us, stabbing a pocket knife into his can of beer, opening the top, and chugging. He sets the can on the table between us and obnoxiously sits in his chair, making sure to make as much noise as possible. He puts a Newport between his plump red lips and lights the end, and it has me itching to ask for one.
Surprisingly, he looks my way. Taking in my focus on the cig he opens his pack and offers me one. "Come on, princess. Your brother isn't here to suffer the effects of secondhand smoke. It's why you stopped, right? Come on, you look like you could use one." He's pretty much whispering, now, unheard by the rest of the party.
I tilt my head in confusion. "What -"
"Just take it. Before I rescind the offer."
I shrug, letting his tone slide in favor of taking a cig and setting it between my lips, our fingers touching as he passes me the lighter. I ignore the fluttering in my stomach to focus on the flame and give the zippo back, nodding in thanks.
"You're smoking again?" Barb asks, disappointment on her face.
I wince, not one for menthol, and shrug. "It's been a long day."
"Too much screwing?" Tommy asks, and I take a drag before leaning back, moving my legs down to cross my ankles, one arm over my head as I slip the cards into my jacket pocket.
"Tommy, buddy, I just had to deal with an asshole who makes you look like a damn angel. Let's take it easy on the 'screwing' comments, before I make it so you can't screw."
He holds up his hands in surrender. "Fine, okay. Tonight only, though. Tomorrow we'll return to our regular smack down."
"Can't wait. It's my favorite pastime." I wink at Carol, who rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.
"That's the spirit. Look at us, all getting along." Steve grins, then shotguns another beer. When he's done, he takes another drag from his cig.
"Is that supposed to impress me?" Nancy asks, a flirtatious smile gracing her features.
"You're not?"
She smirks. "You're a cliché, you do realize that?"
"You're a cliché, what with your… your grades and your band practice." He throws her way.
"I'm not in band."
"She's not in band." Nancy and I both respond, sending each other a small grin.
"Okay, party girl. Why don't you just, uh, show us how it's done, then?" Steve asks, handing her the knife and an empty can of beer.
She takes it and stands, looking at me nervously, but I only give her a discreet nod. With a shrug she stabs it, opens it, and places her mouth on the small tear.
"Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug, chug… yes!" Steve and his friends cheer as she guzzles it down, but Barb only looks disappointed. I clap for Nancy, though. She did a good job, didn't even spill.
"Nicely done. Very impressive." Steve commends her, and she blushes, brushing her hair behind her ears.
"Thanks. I, uh, had a great teacher."
Three heads turn to look at me in unison, and I raise an eyebrow. "What?"
"Listen, I've never seen you at a party. How would you know?" Carol asks, but the look on her face isn't as cruel as usual.
I shrug. "What can I say, I'm just full of surprises."
"Well, come on." Tommy tells me, handing me a can. I hold up my hand and Nancy tosses the thankfully closed knife at me. I catch it with ease and flip it open, still leaning back as I quickly stab through the metal. A clink of metal later my mouth is pressed around the tiny slit, the cool beer sliding down my throat as I chug, emptying the can as quickly as Steve.
"Damn!" Carol claps. "And here I thought all you were good for was scaring off people."
"I'm multi-talented." I respond, setting down the can and handing the knife to Steve before I continue to smoke.
"Barb, you want to try?" Nancy asks, attempting to bring our redheaded friend into the group.
"What? No. No, I don't want to, thanks."
"Come on."
"Nancy, she doesn't have to -" But Nancy doesn't listen to me, high off the attention. She takes the knife from Steve and hands Barb a can of beer.
"It's fun, just give it a -"
"Nance -"
"Barb, it's okay. Don't -" I stand up, but Nancy interrupts me.
"Just, give it a shot."
With great reluctance, Barb listens, only to miss the can and slice her hand. She caves in on herself in pain while Tommy lets out an unhelpful "Gnarly."
"Barb, you're bleeding -"
Nice, Nancy. Real helpful. "I'm fine. Where's your bathroom?" She asks Steve, who gets up.
"Oh, it's uh… down past the kitchen, to the left."
"Thanks." She mumbles, walking away. I huff and flick my finished Newport away, breezing past Steve only for Nancy to tug at my hand.
"Whoa, where are you going?" She asks me.
I glare at her, the air feeling like it's freezing around me. "Don't touch me." She lets go, shocked at how harsh I sound. "I'm going to help our friend. Have fun out here."
"Veronica!"
"Let her go, c'mon. You know how she is." Tommy tells Nancy as I walk away, shaking my head in disappointment. Nancy and I aren't best friends - we aren't even close friends - but I never expected her to act like that, especially not towards her best friend.
Barb is running her hand under the faucet, wincing as the blood leaks down and briefly stains the white porcelain. "Damn it!"
"Hey, it's okay. I'll help." I step into the bathroom, having seen enough blood to not get queasy. Barb's looking a little green, though, so I hurry over.
"Thanks." She gives me a shy smile and I give her a kind nod, rifling through the cabinets until I find rubbing alcohol, a Band-Aid, and some paper towels. "Hey, are you okay?"
"You're the one bleeding, and you're asking me how I'm doing?"
She shrugs, flinching when I dab at her hand with the hydrogen peroxide. "You just look angry."
"Yeah, well, Nancy pissed me off."
"She's just really into Steve." Barb waves it off, but I can see she's hurt.
"Still sucks."
"Yeah." Barb looks at me. "Especially since she can't see how much you like him."
And whoops, there it is.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I murmur, using the paper towel to put some pressure on her steadily-bleeding cut.
"Veronica. You know my glasses actually help me see, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. You're the damn Wizard of Oz."
"Smarties, come on. Don't shut me out. Please stop shutting us out. What will it take for you to have some trust?"
I look up at her. "When people prove they won't leave me."
"People always leave, Veronica. But you know what we do about it? We keep moving on. We prove to the world we're more than just the forgotten. Okay?"
"This is who I am, Barb. It's the only thing keeping me safe." I admit. "I'd rather be cold and keep people away, then let them in and wait for them to hurt me."
"You let me in."
"Yeah, but you're stubborn." I point out, removing the paper towel and tossing the bloodied thing away in favor of covering the wound with a Band-Aid.
A few moments pass while we stand in the bathroom, then Barb speaks up once more. "For what it's worth, I think he's interested, too."
"Barb, no. I appreciate you trying, but he likes Nancy. And I'm okay with it, really. I don't have any right to feel hurt, or jealous, because there's no way a guy like Steve Harrington would ever find me appealing."
"Stop it, Veronica. That's your insecurity talking, not you. Okay?"
I sniff and throw my arms around her. "You're so smart. Seriously. I'm lucky to be your friend."
"Yeah. I'm lucky to be yours, too." We break apart. "We should go see what Nancy's up to. Make sure she's okay."
I huff. "Fine. But you owe me a strawberry milkshake for this."
"Cross my heart, Smarties." We walk out of the bathroom, only to hear people walking up the stairs. Barb rushes ahead of me, and we stare up at Nancy as she stands on the steps, wrapped in a towel. "Nancy. Where are you going?"
"Nowhere. Just… upstairs. To change. I… fell in the pool."
I make a noise, raising my eyebrows and looking away. "Right."
Nancy nods, then looks at us in concern. "Why don't you both go ahead and go home. I'll just… I'll get a ride, or something."
"Are you kidding me?" I ask, scoffing.
"Nance."
"Barb, Vera… I'm fine."
Barb shakes her head. "This isn't you."
"I'm fine. Just, go ahead and go home, okay?" With one last sad look she squelches upstairs, leaving Barb and I on our own.
"Was I like this when I was with a guy?" I finally ask her.
Barb shakes her head, wrinkling her nose. "Nope. You had taste."
I snort, but my eyes are a bit teary. I know what happens when you go upstairs with the guy you like, in a big empty house. I've been there. And I know I'm a hypocrite, because I lost my virginity to another guy - which I still don't regret - but still. This is Steve. And there's no way I could ever be with him now. There are rules us girls follow, you know. Unspoken, but they're still there.
Rule number one, don't get with the guy your friend used to be with, no matter how short the relationship is.
"Hey, why don't we sit outside for a bit? By the pool. Wait and see if Nance changes her mind."
I sigh but nod in agreement, letting Barb pull me with her. I quickly walk over to grab my bag, slinging it onto one shoulder.
We both climb onto the diving board and sit with our backs to each other, my head resting on her shoulder as my feet swing over the pool. "This just blows." I bemoan. "Like, what was the point of making us come if she was just going to ditch us? She made me suffer through a conversation with Tommy and Carol! See, now I'm just mad because of that." I gripe, arms crossed.
"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, by the way. I know you actually were hoping to study."
"I hate studying."
"You don't fool me, Smarties. I see who you really are."
I smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I suppose you do." I hear a little rip and turn my body, realizing she's pulled back the Band-Aid to check on her cut. It's still bleeding, a few red drops landing in the pool. "Barb, you were supposed to keep that covered."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I was just -"
Growling cuts us off, and I look up to see a great big beast looming over us, face opening like some sort of lethal flower. It reaches down and grabs Barb, pulling her up. She shrieks and I yelp, but manage to leap onto the slimy creature, holding tight. The three of us fall, and the world goes black.