slay 'em dead//Steve Harrington

10

I sit in the hallway with Steve. Him and Nancy got into a fight or something this morning.

"Tell me what happened," I say.

"Nancy is all worked up about Barb," Steve tells me. "She was going on about how everybody has forgotten about Barb. And how her parents are selling their house to pay for a private detective. She thinks Barb's parents are going to spend the rest of their lives looking for her."

"Yeah, and what did you say?" I ask.

"There's nothing we can do about it," Steve tells me.

"And how did Nancy react to that?" I ask.

"She thinks we should tell them the truth," Steve says.

"And you don't," I state.

Steve shakes his head. "We could go to jail. You could go to jail."

"Me?" I ask.

"Yeah," Steve insists. "You're an accomplice. You've known all along what happened to Barb."

I shake my head. "You would never rat on me."

Steve sighs. "You're right."

"You're just gonna have to be there for Nancy whatever she chooses to do," I tell him.

"Why do you always have to be right, Sugar?" Steve asks.

I walk out to the parking lot towards my truck. Billy is leaning against the blue Camaro in the spot next to my truck smoking a cigarette. Billy smiles at me before stomping out his cigarette.

"We haven't officially met yet," Billy says. "I'm Billy."

"Candice," I tell him.

Billy smirks. "I hear everyone calls you Candy."

I nod my head. "Yeah."

"You going to that party tonight?" Billy asks me.

"I was thinking about it," I tell him.

Billy nods. "I hope I get to see your costume."

"Well, you'll have to wait and see," I tell him.

I stop by Jonathan's on my way to the party. I know he's gonna be leaving with Will soon. I catch them as they are coming out of the front door. Will is dressed as a Ghostbuster and Jonathan hasn't even bothered to put a costume on.

"No costume?" I ask Jonathan.

He looks me up and down. "At least I'm not gonna freeze to death."

Will smiles. "I like your Daisy Duke costume."

"Thank you Will," I tell him.

Jonathan turns to his brother. "Wait for me in the car."

"So, are you going to the party?" I ask.

Jonathan sighs. "I'm thinking about it."

I smile. "Come one. Be normal for one night. Go to the party."

"You think Will can handle being on his own?" Jonathan asks.

"He's not on his own," I assure him. "He has Mike, and Lucas, and Dustin."

Jonathan nods. "Alright." I smile. "I'll meet you there after I drop Will off."

"Good. You need a night for yourself. Maybe meet a girl. Fall in love," I tell him.

"It's a party," Jonathan tells me.

"You never know," I tell him.

I find Nancy and Steve easy enough when I get to the party. I smile at the two of them. They are dressed as Joel and Lana from Risky Business.