the other woman! - 𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐨 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟

The year was 1983 in the prime of the fall season in Hawkins, Indiana. Nothing but trees were sticking out without a trace of leaves on its arms but there was plenty on the ground filled with color. Almost every family were gossiping about who would mess up the Thanksgiving dinner to be only passed out drunk afterward, and which family member would be the first to watch the latest deals on tv for the Black Friday weekend.

Halloween was just a couple of weeks ago and most of the decorations were now disappeared from the streets. The weather was getting colder and windier as days kept passing by. But of course, it would never stop the four musketeers of Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair, and Dustin Henderson from hashing out a simple ten-hour campaign of the infamous board game, Dungeons and Dragons deep in the Wheelers' basement. It was a place without the presence of parents and responsibilities like the rest of the world. Mike's priorities were absolutely on his friends and his campaigns, as the leader of the party more than his parents. Nancy wasn't that far off.

Besides achieving nearly impossible good grades in every advanced and regular class, her priority on weekends was talking to her childhood best friend, Monica Suzuki about her life while laughing at fond memories. They had been best friends since kindergarten, attached to the hip, and trusted each other indefinitely with everything. Mostly everything.

Nancy couldn't fully understand it but she was sure that what she felt with Monica was much more than words could ever utter. Or what she would allow herself to say out loud. But soon it will change to her surprise. Steve asked her out for a shake and fries at a diner, "Benny's Burger" and called her cute. They started to become a thing; a "real" relationship. Whatever she felt with Monica didn't matter because she was with someone, a boy.

She finally has it all as a normal teenage girl even though, deep down it felt strange. Like an error that always reminds you to get rid of without telling you the problem for your whole life. Maybe it would be better once I'm older, she thought.

Regardless, she always goes to Monica and gossips about life and random thoughts constantly constructed inside their minds. Like the normal teenage girls they were. Tonight was no expectation. Upstairs where Nancy sat there in her bubblegum pink, princess bedroom, her ear was pushed against the baby blue telephone close when talking to her best friend. "Hey, Monica? Did you know about the biology test for Mr. Wilson that's this Thursday?"

Monica, the girl next door, was on the other end of the line, laying on the worn-out brown couch in her clustered mess called her living room. The television was simply static when the room was a mess of flying tax papers from the previous year and spilled, sticky coffee on the floor and on the coffee table. Her mother, at this late of the night, would work her late night shift and closing to get enough money for rent. Paycheck to paycheck.

Monica would try to help her out by applying to several jobs but her mother wouldn't allow her. Not that she would actually get those jobs mostly. Her mother wanted her not to be worried about money, but instead of getting a good education so she could be successful with a husband and three kids. Her mother would always specify the plan of the "husband and three kids" mainly. The opposite of what Monica wanted. What she wanted... was to spend time with her best friend and escape her reality of masking heterosexuality. This was one of those days.

She sat with a bowl of popcorn in hand as she listened to Nancy's sweet, melodic ranting about the classes that shared with Monica. She totally forgot about the test for Mr. Wilson that was due less than a week which Nancy was more concerned about... "Well, Steve asked out for a study date tomorrow to get me focused and I said yes."

Steve Harrington. He was known as the "prince charming" of the whole school and a "nice guy" on Nancy Wheeler's account. Monica, on the other hand, had different chosen words to describe him. Conceited and pucker-face would be one of the few nicer ones. She hated Steve "full of Hairspray" Harrington for many reasons. But being with Nancy was the nice cherry on top. A cherry filled with sharp thorns.

"Oh. Steve Harrington? Again? He must really like you." Monica says with tight grit of her teeth and slightly grabbed a handful of popcorn into a slight fist.

"Yeah, right. It's so... weird. I can't believe that guys like Steve Harrington find me interesting. I mean me and you still read issues of Nancy Drew seriously and I have my whole plan out for when I miraculously become a news reporter somewhere in the New York Times. What a idiot I can be, right?" Hearing how Nancy talks about being 'someone' like a news reporter is one of the main reasons why Steve didn't deserve a beautiful, ambitious girl like her. At least in Monica's eyes.

She's perfect with straight As and no will to drink, like at all. Why does she want to be with an idiot like Steve, she thought. Monica seriously couldn't wrap her head around it.

"You're not an idiot. I think you'd make a great reporter. And trust me, you have more potential to actually do something... more than this stupid town. Way more than me. I'm kinda surprised that you would study with Steve since he barely passed earth science even with cheating."

Nancy snorted a small laugh. "Oh come on, you know that he isn't like that. He's really sweet and smart. It's just his friends that are the idiots. You hardly give him a chance anyways." She then lays on her back, expecting Monica to respond.

Monica picks up another handful of popcorn as she responds. "The guy reeks of hairspray and looks like the cardboard cut version of the main guy from 'Grease'. What was his name— Danny?"

"You mean Danny Zuko?"

"Yeah, that guy. Do you really expect me to like a guy who reminds me of Danny Zuko? Seriously, it's ridiculous." Nancy laughs at how dramatic she was being.

"You're being overdramatic. I bet you'll be shocked how funny and kid he is— Hold on." As Monica loves her, she hated how much she would try to like an asshole like Steve.

Back on Nancy's end of the phone call, there stood a small boy wearing a blue-white-red baseball cap under his brown curls and brown jacket, who was holding a nearly empty pizza box with only one more slice. The boy known as Dustin Henderson opens his mouth, revealing his no front teeth like a toothless smile. He waved for Nancy's attention by her door and spoke.

"Hey, Nancy. There's a slice if you want it. Sausage and pepperoni." He said in his convincing singsong voice in an attempt to make the meal even more interesting than it is.

Nancy puts the telephone down on the side of her bed and walked over to simply slam the door in the child's face without a response. She then goes over to grab the phone again and resumes the conversation. "Sorry, that was just one of my brother's freakshow friends trying to talk to me again."

Monica smirks into a chuckle. "Aw, which one?"

Nancy laid back on the left side of her pink bed as she put the phone against her ear. "I think Dustin. He asked me if I wanted a slice of pizza or something."

"I always liked Will and Dustin the most out of the four of them. Even more than your own brother." She paused to take a bite of her popcorn. "But... then again, I do prefer any of them over hairspray Steve and his goon friends. Weird."

The next words that were uttered out of Nancy Wheeler's light crimson red lips made the conversation flip a switch from usual fun to awkward silence. "Gosh I love you, Monica."

Pause. A long awkward silence. Nancy tries to brush it off by saying right after, "You know what I mean..." as she giggled awkwardly. Monica's twenty seconds of bliss were crushed faster than she had hoped for. She knew what Nancy meant, but some part of her wished it wasn't true. She wished for something more... Something intimate.

After that, they scramble for a way to wrap up and speed up their goodbyes before hanging up the phone. Nancy stares straight up at the ceiling anxious... but not regretting what she just said. For feeling like she meant it genuinely. Like she really did... love her. She just was scared to admit it, especially to herself. But for now, Nancy had to keep it to herself, stitching her mouth shut from the already ripped-up piece of who she really was.

November 6th was the last regular night of gossip for these two as it was the last typical night of D&D for the campaign. As they knew it. Nothing will be really the same for both of them in an extremely horrifying way and in a slightly... good way. However, you see it. And you will see soon enough.