F*ck You Flowerpod From Hell - Stranger Things

Chapter 10 - The Upside Down - Part 2

 Kitty's eyes flickered open and she immediately closed them again, light was pouring in from the window making it so bright in the off-white room that it physically hurt. She groaned and scrunched her face up to squeeze her eyes shut as tight as possible to block out the light.

Somewhere to her side, she heard a soft gasp and the scrape of a chair being scooted forward, and then someone was holding her hand and squeezing it. She relaxed her face in an attempt to adjust to the light, and slowly the events of the past few days flooded back in, right... hellscape, flowerpod, freezing to death, getting bit, chasing Will, passing out... chasing Will.

"Will. Did you find him? Did you get him out?"

The hand holding her own squeezed again, "Yeah, Joyce and Hopper found him. He's just fine, I think he's asleep again now but he woke up last night."

Kitty sighed in relief and smiled softly at the familiar voice, turning in the direction of the voice Kitty finally flickered her eyes back open to see Nancy Wheeler sitting in the chair by her bed.

Kitty's smile grew a bit. "Hey, Nance,"

"Oh, Kitty." Nancy sobbed and threw herself forward wrapping up Kitty in a tight hug. Kitty let in a sharp breath and hugged Nancy back biting her thumb to distract herself from the pain of Nancy squeezing her hurt shoulder.

"Kitty, I am so sorry. I was such a bitch to you, I didn't mean to push you away, you were right about me being uncool. I'm so so sorry."

Kitty shook her head softly and rubbed Nancy's back as she sobbed until she started to feel tears soaking into her hospital gown.

Kitty gently pushed Nancy away, and Nancy looked down and bit her lip, guilt, and pain swirling in her eyes.

"Hey," Kitty said and grabbed her hand. "I'm not mad, I just don't think you're supposed to get bandages wet." She smiled lopsidedly and motioned to the damp bandages around her shoulder.

"Oh, right, right. Yeah, you're probably right..."

"Nancy," Kitty squeezed her hand and Nancy squeezed back. "I accept your apology, and I forgive you. All the shit that's happened these last few days? Some stupid party just... doesn't seem to matter anymore. And it shouldn't matter to you either."

"But, but, it does matter to me. I- I treated you horribly, and then you were gone. You and Barb were gone, and it ate me up inside, and it still does that you could have died and the last thing I would have said to you..."

Her words hung in the air, and Kitty felt the shift from Nancy talking about her, to Nancy talking about Barb. Because Barb didn't make it out, and those were Nancy's last words to her.

"Hey." Kitty broke the silence. "I don't think she would still be mad either. You knew Barb, grudges were never her thing, she'd just be glad you saw sense and tried to be better. And that's not how she'd want to be remembered either, so on behalf of both of us... just forget that night, forget the party. What matters are the group study sessions, the movie dates, the birthday parties, that's what you hold on to, okay?"

Nancy nodded and brushed away her tears furiously. "Yeah, yeah, of course. You're right. Just umm... one last thing."

"Hmm?"

"Did... Did you see it? Do you know how it happened- how she...?"

Kitty paused, and she could sense Nancy's next question, what Nancy really wanted, "Yes, she died in her sleep of hypothermia, it was cold, we'd stopped running to take a break, and we sat down for a minute, she dozed off and just... never woke up. I don't think it hurt, and she didn't die alone."