To Love a Boy ☆ S. Harrington

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𓆉 ⋆.˚𓇼 ⋆.˚𓆟

November 11, 1983

Magnolia felt repulsed. Her hair, once coated in a slimy substance, had dried and turned into a thicker gel. Not to mention the dirt that adorned her jeans, which she'd probably have to throw away. She didn't even want to think about the pain slicing through her skin, but the constant shocks whenever she applied pressure to her right foot wouldn't allow it. Nancy had agreed to let her shower and lend the girl some clothes until she could get her own.

Once Magnolia entered the bathroom, she breathed out a sigh she had been holding since she escaped that hell. The girl carefully sat down, pulling up her leg and lifting her pants to reveal the cut. It was a little more than a cut in all honesty, and was on the verge of needing stitches. She winced as she pulled at the skin surrounding it. It felt right having Nancy go through the hole before her, but Magnolia felt a cold sweat creep along her neck at the memory of the sharp sting of inhuman claws tearing through her flesh.

Magnolia had hoped that the warm water would soothe her nerves, but being alone was scarier than she had thought. The white noise of the shower head had made it easy to believe that she had heard a growl, and the unknown of what lay behind the shower curtain sat uneasily in her stomach. Magnolia was out of that suffocating shower within minutes. She decided on just digging a band-aid out of her back, figuring the shower was enough to avoid infection. As she finally walked out, she observed the two that sat on Nancy's bed. The Wheeler girl was beyond distressed, that much was clear. Magnolia didn't even want to think about how long she had been in that other "world" by herself. It was nice that they had each other.

"Hey, I'm going to go use the phone," Magnolia spoke softly, before making her way out of the room and down the stairs. There was no reason to not use Nancy's phone, but Magnolia felt embarrassed to admit that she couldn't be trusted to stay out. Besides, the two seemed to be having a moment.

𓆉 ⋆.˚𓇼 ⋆.˚𓆟

Magnolia dialed the familiar number Aunt Claudia had made her memorize, waiting a couple of seconds as the dial tone droned on, and then she heard her aunt's voice.

"Hello?"

"Aunt Claudia," Magnolia sighed. "Look-"

"Where are you, sweetie? You know you're not allowed to be out this late," the worried woman softly scolded.

"I know, it's just... look I'm at Nancy's house-"

"Wheeler?" Claudia was confused. She had never seen the two girls talk before.

"-And I'm fine; I'm safe. But, I'm not coming home," Magnolia continued.

"What?"

"I just have to help her with something and I'll explain everything when I get home tomorrow, please don't worry," Magnolia rambled until she finally hung up, not letting her aunt add another word. She knew she was being dumb, she was well aware of that. Magnolia also knew that she wasn't going to back down from this fight after all that they had discovered. She needed closure, desperately. So, if that meant losing all trust her aunt had in her, and losing all progress she had made with her dad, then this monster better have had a damn good reason for showing up in the small town of Hawkins.