Ashley Moore. Damn was she in for a rollercoaster. A neglectful mother. A (mostly) absent father. Immature friends. A strange girl with a tattoo and powers. Confusing feelings for her best friend. Not to mention her other best friend is missing and...
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Ashley had become numb in a way. She didn't feel it when Hopper put his hand on her shoulder, crouching to her height, and gently urged her to leave. She didn't see Mike or El leave. She kept staring at Will, her eyes traveling to stay on him. She hadn't said a word, until Will was out of sight. "No... that can't be him. It can't be." Finally looking at who was around her she saw Dustin and Hopper talking by the Chief's truck. The girl turned to see Lucas with tears on his cheeks and she shot forward to give him a hug. The boy immediately wrapped his arms around her, his fists clenching around her braids in both hands. They both had silent tears rolling down onto each other until Ashley's progressed into loud sobs, her body shaking. "He's really gone, Luke. He can't be gone."
Lucas had said nothing in return. The pain in Ashley's voice duplicated the pain Lucas already felt. Even though they fought like cats and dogs Ashley and Lucas were extremely close and would do anything for each other. Lucas tried to keep his tears suppressed, he had to for Ashley.
Little did he know Ashley was trying to do the same thing for him, failing miserably. Her breath came out fast in rough sobs and it felt like she wasn't getting any air in her lungs. She could feel Dustin's hand be placed on her shoulder. Her legs felt weak and she had to lean on Lucas, gripping his jacket to stay upright. All she could think of was Will, a young and bright life taken away. She started feeling suffocated and let go of the boy, stumbling back. She brought her hand up to feel her forehead which was drenched with sweat. With trembling hands she fumbled with the zip of her hoodie. As realization hit her Ashley stumbled to sit down, hoping it would help calm her.
She had become deaf to the chaos surrounding her. But she could still see it. Lucas seemed petrified, though he had witnessed Ashley's attacks a million times before. Hopper had tried to go to her to help as Dustin snapped at him that he knew how to handle it. After a minute of Ashley's eyes flitting around at her surroundings she saw Dustin start to approach her. He had a gentle smile on his face as he sat next to her making sure to keep his distance. He pulled his sleeve down to cover his hand and held it out to the girl. Ashley looked down to it eyes wide with fear, her breaths still fast and shallow. She felt like she was gonna die and her mind felt fuzzy.
"Hey, I'm here okay? I'm here." Dustin's hand remained outstretched waiting for hers to be placed on top of it. She looked him in the eyes then looked back down, grasping his hand and burying her head in the crook of his neck. "Lucas, you know your part right?"
The other boy walked away from the confused chief and sat next to Ashley. "Of course I remember. I don't think I could ever forget that stupid song." He placed his hand on the girls knee and started singing.
"On the bank of the river.. Stood Running Bear, young Indian brave" Running Bear, by Johnny Preston from 1959, was a song that they always sang to help calm Ashley and it always worked. Dustin had read that music could be a good distraction and found the most calming song he could find in his mom's old records. "On the other side of the river, stood his lovely Indian maid" Lucas' voice was like honey to Ashley's ears as her breathing started to slow down. Her thoughts no longer focused on Will or her anxiety attack, instead focused on the words filling her ears. The familiarity soothed her and slowly she started feeling better.
