✓ DEFENSIVE | Z. BERMAN

iv. THE PLAN

JULY 19th, 1978
6:53 P.M.

Ziggy ended up leading Y/N to the arts and crafts cabin and she watched as Ziggy grabbed a bucket of red paint and a paint brush before going to open the bucket.

But before she can get far, they hear the cabin door open and a voice, "What are you doing?"

Ziggy and Y/N turn to see Cindy Berman standing in the door way, Ziggy immediately rolling her eyes, "Art projects." She replies.

"I need to talk to you." Cindy says, coming around the table to where Y/N is as she hops up on the table to get ready for whatever is about to go down between them.

"I'm not in the mood."

"Earlier you said Mary was upset," Cindy starts despite Ziggy's protests.

Y/N crosses her arms as Ziggy turns to face her sister. "Oh," She says with a scoff, "So now you care!"

"Ziggy, this is serious." Cindy cuts her sarcastic remarks off, her brow furrowing.

"Yeah, well, it was serious earlier and you didn't give a shit." Ziggy snaps, turning back around to the can, motioning for Y/N to follow as she grabs the supplies, Y/N hopping down from her spot.

Cindy sighs and follows the two out the doors, "Come on! You two were the last people to see her before she snapped. What about drugs, did you see any around?" Cindy questions the pair.

"She was a nurse, so yup."

"Well, did she mention anything — "

"Nope."

Y/N keeps quiet as the sisters fight, not seeming like it's her place to interject, even if she probably would've told Cindy some of the answers to her questions just to get her off their tails.

Y/N heard Cindy sigh again, "Ziggy I'm just... I'm trying to understand what happened today."

"Who cares, it's over." Ziggy sasses.

"Ziggy," Y/N calls quietly, catching one of her wrists, only for Ziggy to shake her off with a frown.

"Well — Well not for Tommy." Cindy speaks again, Y/N almost hoping that she would shut up before Ziggy snaps and says something she'll regret, "He's still freaked out and acting weird and it's just a big joke to everyone. 'Mary was possessed by the witch.'"

"Maybe it was the witch." Ziggy says, her eyes trained on the ground. When Cindy tries to talk again, she cuts her off, "What? That doesn't fit your carefully constructed bullshit view of the world?"

Y/N notices Cindy's steps slow for a moment before picking back up as she speaks again, "Why are you being like this?"

"I dunno," Ziggy shrugs, "Maybe because Nurse Lane was one of the only two people who were nice to me at this stupid camp, and now her life is over because bad things always happen to Shadysiders."

Y/N looks over her shoulder in apology to Cindy as the two continue walking, but the older Berman sister calls out one more time, "Nothing just happens. There's always a reason."

Ziggy turns to her again as Y/N goes to open the cabin door, Ziggy's hands full as she talks to her sister, "Not always a rational one. Deep down, you feel it, don't you? Shadyside, there's something here. It's just holding us down, cursing us."

"Ziggy, that's enough." Cindy mumbles, her voice getting quieter. This is what Y/N was afraid of, but Ziggy talks again before she can shut it down.

"You're too scared to admit it. So when things go bad, you wanna explain it away."

Cindy shakes her head as Y/N fumbles with the lock, not really ready to head back inside yet. "I'm sorry," Cindy rebuts, "I'm not going to blame everything on some fairytale. Life sucks sometimes. I get that. I mean, God knows it's been hard since..." She trials off, looking nervously to Y/N.