Angelica "Freak Two" Munson

Chapter 60

That night, Angie finally finishes packing her bags. Turns out spite is a pretty good motivator.

Although as confident as she seems on the outside, Angie is still uncertain about her decision.

At this point, she thinks it's too late to turn back. She already picked a fight with Eddie about it, so that seemed to be a pretty good indicator.

Angie doesn't sleep too well, either. Her mind keeps drifting to the fact that she'll be leaving that coming morning. By the time she truly falls asleep, it's close to 4 o'clock in the morning...

[?]

There's an obnoxious knocking on the Harrington's front door, accompanied by a reoccurring ding of the doorbell.

Steve groans, stomping up to the door in his blue pajama pants and a grey t-shirt.

He opens it, rubbing a tired hand over his face, "Who the-" he sighs, spotting his visitor, "What the hell are you doing at my house at six in the morning, Henderson?"

"Well, that's no way to treat your best friend." Dustin scoffs.

Steve glares daggers, "Once again, I say, six in the morning!"

He puts his hands up in defense, "Alright, alright." He pauses, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

He gestures sarcastically, opening the door wide enough that he can slip through.

Dustin plops down onto Steve's couch with an almost inaudible sigh, "Did you know that Angie's leaving?" He blurts.

Steve takes a seat next to him, rubbing his hand across his neck, "Yeah, I did."

"And you didn't think to tell me?" He turns to him with an intense look of distrust.

He sighs, knowing he was wrong not to tell him, "I'm- I'm sorry, Dustin. I was just so caught up in my own feelings about it that I didn't even think to call you... I- I really am sorry. I should've told you."

"Yeah, you should've." He mumbles, looking down at the floor.

They sit in an awkward silence for a moment before Dustin speaks.

"And we're just going to let her go?"

Steve exhales deeply, "Yeah, I think we are."

"But why? We need her. What if something happens again? What if-"

"She said that she needs to leave."

"Why?"

"She's just struggling, Dustin. She needs a break." He reasons on Angie's behalf, "She's been through a lot."

"So have we." Dustin whines, "You don't see any of us trying to get the heck out of Dodge!"

"Look," Steve speaks harshly, not having the patience for the conversation, "Robin and I have already had this discussion with her. We both tried to get her to stay, but she just wouldn't budge."

"Then you clearly didn't try hard enough."

"Excuse me?" Steve scoffs, standing abruptly.

"You. Didn't. Try. Hard. Enough." He mutters again.

"If you're just going to come into my house and disrespect me, Henderson, then you can leave." He seethes, "I'm not taking this shit from you or anyone else, alright? I'm done. So if this is all you've come here to do, just get out." Steve turns his back, leaning against a dining room chair.

Dustin sulks for a moment before approaching Steve slowly. He places a comforting hand on his shoulder, "When is she leaving?" He mutters softly.

He glances at the clock across the room with a sigh. "Sometime this morning."

"Then it's not too late." Dustin smiles enthusiasticly.

"What? Henderson, did you not hear a word I just said? She's leaving!" He throws his hands about obnoxiously, "We already tried to convince her, and it didn't work!"

"Not yet." He grabs Steve's shoes from the doorway and outstretches them, "but she hasn't left yet, so you still have time to try again."

Steve stares at his red and white Converse All-Stars with a solemn expression. If he goes back and tries again and she still leaves... he might not ever emotionally recover.

He sighs, closing his eyes tightly.

"Just try again, dingus." Robin orders from the staircase with her hair still wet from her shower.

"But you were the one who told me to let her go." He mutters.

"And now I'm telling you to try again." She approaches him, "Look," she starts, "None of us want her to go, especially you... so go and fight for her."

He sputters, not being able to come up with another option, "But I- It-" he sighs, taking his Converse from Dustin and slipping them on over his socks.

Steve slowly waltzes up to the door, grabbing his car keys from the hook. He pauses, looking back at his friends, "Wish me luck?" He asks, trying to delay himself only slightly.

Robin smiles weakly, knowing they're all terrified deep down, "Bring our girl back to us, yeah?"

He nods subtley, gripping the handle tightly before swinging it open and rushing out to his BMW.

Robin closes it behind him as Dustin watches him pull out of the driveway.

"Do you think he'll actually get her to stay?" He questions meekly.

She sighs deeply, "I don't know, Henderson... I really hope so."

Steve taps his fingers anxiously across the top of the steering wheel as he approaches Angie's house. He exhales deeply, trying to keep his composure.

This could either end really poorly or go really well, and that scared him. In all honesty, he was more scared in this moment than he was when he was being chased by the Mind Flayer.

Steve scoffs at himself, "How pathetic." He mumbles, his hand shaking slightly as he runs it through his hair.

When he arrives, Eddie is out front with a large box, heading towards his 1971 Chevrolet Sportsvan.

He exits his car quickly, not even stopping to turn it off.

Eddie turns to him in confusion, "Harrington?" He glances at his watch, 6:28. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I see her?" Steve pleads, his gaze shifting to the house.

"I don't think she's even awake yet." He places the box of clothes down on one of the seats, "She didn't sleep too well last night... I could hear her tossing through the walls."

"Well, I don't want to wake her." Steve mumbles, popping his knuckles.

Eddie observes him silently, "Look," He glances at his watch once more, "we're supposed to leave in 10 minutes..." he addresses him calmly, "but I think I know where this is going... so I can delay leaving time for another 20."

Steve glances at him with a puzzled look, Why would Eddie help him? They hated each other.

"Thank you, Munson." He states sincerely.

"Of course," he mutters with a small grin as Steve approaches the front door, "Hey, Harrington?" He calls out.

"Yeah?"

"If you're lucky, I'll delay leaving time indefinitely." He glances at the small "A" tattoo across his knuckle, "I hope you're lucky... just this once." He adds a bit playfully.