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At Hawkins High, among the steady stream of students pouring through the front entrance, Nancy Wheeler walked with a book pressed neatly against her chest, a single-strap bag hanging from her shoulder, likely filled with more of the same.
Nancy wasn't exactly a nerd, not in the way people at school casually labeled others, but there was no denying her ambition. She carried herself with purpose, her focus always anchored to her academics. School wasn't just a routine for her, it was a step toward something bigger.
Journalism.
A future she had already begun chasing long before anyone else her age even knew what they wanted.
That drive shaped her. It sharpened her discipline, made her serious when it came to anything academic… but it also quietly distanced her from most of her peers.
She wasn't socially awkward, not at all. Nancy didn't stumble over conversations or avoid people. She wasn't an outsider either, nor someone who shut others out of her life.
She simply… stood slightly apart.
Like an honor student who existed in her own lane, close enough to be seen, but never fully part of the crowd.
Nancy moved quickly through the hallway, her steps light but purposeful, already thinking ahead to her classes.
And right on cue, Barbara Holland, who had clearly arrived earlier, spotted her almost instantly and made her way over.
Barbara was different. Where Nancy blended a careful balance of ambition and composure, Barbara leaned fully into what the school would label as a "nerd." Her oversized glasses framed her face, and there was a certain stiffness in the way she carried herself, socially awkward in a way Nancy never was.
She wasn't popular. Not even close to that word.
But like Nancy, she was sharp. Focused and driven in her own way.
And that was enough to bind them together for a long time.
Barbara approached with a small, knowing smile tugging at her lips.
"So… how is it?" she asked, deliberately vague, her tone carrying just enough curiosity to make her intentions obvious.
Nancy immediately knew what she meant.
Barbara wasn't just asking about last night.
She was asking about them.
Steve… and Chris.
Nancy exhaled softly, already anticipating where this was going. Barbara was trying to corner her playfully, but still.
"Could you please keep your voice down?!" Nancy replied quickly, not breaking her stride and very deliberately avoiding the question.
Her eyes flicked around the hallway, scanning briefly to make sure no one was paying them any attention. The last thing she needed was that conversation becoming public.
Barbara, of course, didn't let it go.
"Did he or did he not?" she pressed, keeping pace beside her.
Nancy continued walking, but this time a faint smile slipped onto her lips subtle, almost betraying her composure.
"…Which one?" she replied, glancing at Barbara with a teasing edge that earned a quiet laugh from her friend.
Barbara's reaction made Nancy roll her eyes, though the amusement lingered as they finally reached her locker.
"I told you, Chris was only picking up his brother last night. There's nothing strange about that," Nancy said, turning the dial of her locker with practiced ease, her tone firm almost defensive, if someone listened closely enough.
Barbara leaned casually against the neighboring locker, arms loosely folded, clearly unconvinced.
"I want to see the pirate," she said, her voice carrying a mix of curiosity and playful judgment.
She tilted her head slightly, studying Nancy's reaction.
"Are you sure he's actually more handsome with the pirate eyepatch?" she added, this time with a more serious look, though the hint of teasing never fully left her eyes.
Nancy froze for a second, a soft gasp escaping her lips as she turned sharply toward Barbara.
"I didn't say anything like that! Barb, Oh God!"
Barbara met her with a completely deadpan expression, utterly unimpressed.
"Nance… we are both intelligent women. Do you really think I'd forget what you said last night?"
That was enough.
A faint blush crept onto Nancy's cheeks as the memory hit her.
Yeah… she did say that.
She didn't argue anymore, choosing instead to turn back to her locker, focusing on the dial as if it suddenly required all of her attention.
"Really, Nance?" Barbara continued, lowering her voice into a whisper as she leaned closer. "You've got a shot with Steve the Hair, and yet there's still another guy sitting in your heart?"
Nancy didn't respond.
"I didn't know you were becoming one of the popular girls now," Barbara added, shaking her head slightly, her tone carrying something sharper beneath the teasing.
That made Nancy look at her.
Barbara didn't look amused anymore.
She looked… disappointed.
And Nancy understood immediately.
"No, Barb…" Nancy said quickly, her voice softening. "Me and Chris… it's nothing. I've already moved on. Chris and I are just friends."
Barbara held her gaze for a moment before giving a small nod.
"Well… you are going out with Steve, after all. So yeah, you're still gonna be popular," she said, her tone easing just a little. "Just make sure you're still hanging out with me."
Nancy let out a quiet breath, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.
That disappointment from earlier, it faded slowly.
They had been best friends since they were kids. That wasn't something Nancy would ever just throw away.
"Of course, Barb. Do you seriously think I'd forget about you?" Nancy said, a small, genuine smile appearing. "Actually… Chris invited us to watch his band practice last night. Do you want to come?"
As she finally pulled her locker open, something caught her attention.
A small piece of paper.
Barbara noticed it too.
"Wow… Steve wants to continue your little make-out session?" Barbara said flatly, already rolling her eyes as she pushed herself off the locker.
She turned away before Nancy could respond. "Yeah, I'd love to go to the club later," she added over her shoulder, casually agreeing to the band practice.
Nancy didn't answer right away. She just gave a faint smile as she watched Barbara walk off.
Then her attention returned to the note in her hand.
She read it quickly and immediately knew which bathroom Steve meant.
Without thinking too much about it, she closed her locker and started walking… a little faster than before.
There was a quiet excitement building in her chest.
Yeah… she was moving on.
There was nothing left with Chris anyway.
And it wasn't an excuse.
She liked Steve. She wanted this.
As she approached the bathroom, she spotted Tommy and Carol standing outside, both of them already smirking the moment they saw her.
Tommy even made a mocking, exaggerated gesture like a servant presenting the entrance for a princess.
Nancy ignored it.
She stepped inside and there was Steve.
He didn't hesitate.
The moment he saw her, he closed the distance and kissed her.
Nancy didn't pull away.
She kissed him back just as fiercely and almost the same recklessly, like she was trying to prove something… maybe to him, maybe to herself.
Steve took that as an answer.
His hands moved, guiding her back until her shoulders met the wall, pressing closer, more confident now, more certain.
Nancy let it happen for a few seconds longer…
…before she finally placed her hands against his chest, creating a small distance between them.
Her breath was still slightly uneven as she looked at him.
"…Do you want to come see a band practice?"
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A few hours after Hopper's conversation with Claudia and Joyce, the hospital room had settled into a quiet, almost suffocating stillness.
Dustin sat beside his brother's bed, unusually calm for once, his small frame leaning slightly forward as his eyes lingered on Chris's unmoving figure.
In the corner of the room, Connie sat with her eyes closed, her posture relaxed as if she were simply resting but there was something deliberate about her presence.
Dustin didn't really understand why she was still here.
She had been giving his mother excuse after excuse softly, reasonable ones just to stay in the room and wait for Chris to wake up.
The doctor had already said it clearly: Chris would wake up once the effects of the anesthesia wore off.
Claudia had stepped out to get food for both herself and Dustin, leaving him alone in the room.
Well… not entirely alone.
That was why she wasn't too worried.
The steady beeping of the vital signs monitor filled the space, rhythmic and constant, almost hypnotic.
Dustin was getting bored. After all, he already knew Chris wasn't seriously hurt. Well, except that dislocated shoulder and bandage lingering in his body….'yeah, he's gonna be fine.'
The worst of his worry had passed.
So now, he sat there, half-watching the small television mounted in the room, letting the noise fill the silence until the door suddenly opened.
Dustin turned his head.
Will stepped in first, followed by Jonathan and Joyce.
Will's eyes immediately found Chris.
He froze there for a second, staring at him… before shifting his gaze toward Dustin, his eyes already red, heavy with something he hadn't fully processed yet.
"…Dustin," Will murmured as he walked closer.
Dustin broke into a small, genuine smile, relief flickering across his face as he saw Will standing there.
"I'm glad you're okay, Will!" Dustin said, stepping closer to him.
"Chris protected me," Will said quietly, his voice almost trembling as his eyes drifted back to Chris. "I don't know… if it wasn't for him, I think I would've been eaten by that monster…"
Dustin blinked, his expression shifting instantly.
"What really happened?" he asked, but before Will could answer, Dustin casually reached out and lightly smacked Chris's arm.
"Don't worry about this son of a bitch," Dustin added with a shrug. "He's hard to kill."
Will flinched immediately, panic flashing across his face as he looked at Chris, but Chris didn't move.
Still asleep.
"Dustin!" Joyce snapped, her voice sharp as she stepped forward, her eyes darting to the monitor, but the vital signs remained steady and normal.
Jonathan just shook his head quietly, watching the scene unfold.
These siblings…
They really were something else.
Will finally began explaining what had happened, his voice low at first, but gradually gaining clarity as he spoke.
Dustin listened and for once, he was genuinely stunned.
"Did you two kill it?!" Dustin blurted out.
Will shook his head.
"Chris shot that monster… but it kept chasing us," Will said, his face paling again as the memory came rushing back.
"Will, I think we should let Chris rest," Joyce said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You should be resting too, right?"
Will hesitated. After resting for a while and calming down himself, he realized how insane this sounded.
A monster in the real world.
Every adult around him had already planted doubt in his mind, slowly, carefully, making him question what he had seen.
But Dustin… Dustin wasn't looking at him like he was crazy.
He believed him.
And that….that meant everything.
"…Shit. Then it's going to come back, right?!" Dustin said suddenly.
Will's face went pale all over again.
Just like that, the doubt planted by the adults was pushed aside once more.
Fear replaced it.
Real fear like before.
In the corner of the room, Connie's eyes twitched slightly.
She wasn't asleep. She had been listening the entire time…her eyes still closed but her expression unreadable.