A.M. - STRANGER THINGS

Two

The Humiliation of Nancy Wheeler

That night, Heather didn't go home. There was a possibility whatever chased her would follow, and she would be damned if her family suffered because of her. Scared out of her mind, she walked back to the alley to grab her bag and deck, then rode to Hawkins High in complete silence. The Walkman she was listening music from earlier still had juice, but she was scared someone would sneak up on her.

When she got to the school, only one lamp post granted dim light. Heather sat with her back leaning on it and just stood there, in thought. Every branch that shook sent alert signals to her brain, she would completely stop breathing until she was sure it wouldn't come back. The light didn't flicker, and only turned off when the morning rose.

Students started parking with their parent's old cars, and flooding into the hallways.

Another sleepless night where Heather accomplish nothing, except doubt her own sanity. She couldn't tell anyone, that's the conclusion she got to.

Heather probably hallucinated, a result from her chronic lack of sleep and active imagination.

She tried to go about her day as usual, but her tired state and messy appearance made it hard. People constantly asked her if she was okay, which obviously she was not. And on then odd occasion someone did dare to touch her, she would flinch and hit their hand away.

During lunch, in the corner of her eye, Heather could see Steve Harrington, Tommy and Carol, all sitting at their usual lunch table.

"Ugh, I don't care what it is. It's disgusting." Steve's wish was their command and both of his friends immediately stopped bickering. They all had food, which no one in reality was eating. Nancy quietly sat down, holding a tray of her own. She didn't greet Steve or his friends.

No Barb in sight, Heather acknowledged. Had they gotten in a fight? Barbara was always glued to Nancy, especially since she started hanging out with Steve.

"Get it off the table," Steve said, referring to Carol's shoe. It had some sort of blue gunk on it, a piece of which was now stuck to the table. Tommy eyed it carefully, fearing it would give him a disease or something.

"Hey Tommy. When you left, did you see Barb?" Nancy asked, out of the blue.

"Who?" He gave a dumb grin to Carol, but continued to act confused.

"Barbara," Nancy clarified. "She isn't here today."

"I seriously have no idea who you're talking about" Carol snickered next to him, clearly enjoying the annoyance of Nancy Wheeler.

Steve rolled his eyes, "Come on man. Just tell us if you saw her or not."

"No." Tommy picked up his fork and played with his food, scolded like a puppy. Carol looked disappointed.

Heather finally reached the front of the lunch line, and got her food. She tried to pass by their table quickly. However, Nancy saw her immediately. Did she have some sort of Holland detector?

"Heather, sit with us." Nancy called, and the girl turned around instantly, groaning internally.

Her eyes moved from Nancy to Steve, as if to ask for permission. He nodded and Heather sighed, "Okay."

Heather set her tray of food down on the table, and sat next to Carol. Tommy looked at her hoodie, for a split second confused, and the smirked.

"You look tired, are you okay?" Nancy asked, quietly while the rest of the table was taking about something else.

"Yeah. I just didn't get much sleep." Heather put a fork-full of salad in her mouth.

"Do you know if Barb came home last night?" Nancy asked, and Carol suddenly lost interest in the conversation Steve and Tommy were having.

"No? I didn't go home last night," Heather said. "I thought you were supposed to go to your place after the Steve's party."

How could Nancy just let Barb go home, alone in the middle of the night? Could that thing have gone after Barb, the monster that tried to kill Heather? No. Heather shook the thoughts away.

"You guys need to relax. She probably just couldn't stand listening to all that moaning." Carol and Tommy started laughing, which turned into moaning and grunting. A few people looked at them, and the Stupidtastic Duo didn't stop. Nancy looked down, embarrassed. "Oh, Steve! Oh, Steve!"

"Okay, chill." Steve said nonchalantly, and they stopped reluctantly. Tommy was sending him death glares.

"Dude, isn't Heather wearing your sweatshirt?" He said, smirking at his food, picking up a tator-tot with his fingers.

Nancy looked at Heather, confused for a second. She was wide-eyed, a gazelle in headlights. Tommy is such a snake.

"Shut up, dickwad." Steve hissed, confirming it. He turned to Nancy, dealing damage control. "I'm sure Barbara is fine. She's probably just, skipping or something. Yeah?"

"Yeah." Nancy smiled, but wasn't comforted at all. She sent Heather a look. It said "We need to talk." Heather nodded and both of them stayed silent for the rest of lunch, listening to the other half of the table's conversation.

Carol moaned, and Tommy grunted, both hitting the table with hands in
"I just remembered, I have to go." Heather said, picked up her tray and started to leave until Nancy got ahold of her arm.

"Okay, chill. Stop it." Steve said to Tommy and Carol. They stopped making sex noises, but Tommy still had a smirk on his face.

"Heather, stay." Nancy pleaded.

Heather started walking away anyway, leaving Nancy alone with Steve and his asshole friends. Behind her, Tommy spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Dude, isn't that your sweatshirt Heather's wearing?" He was grinning.

Tommy is such a snake.

"Shut up," Steve hissed before turning to Nancy, starting damage control. "Listen, I'm sure Barbara is fine. She's probably just, like skipping or something."

"Yeah, yeah. Probably." Nancy's voice was barely audible, deep in thought. She smiled, for Steve, but she wasn't comforted.

✩I had to end this chapter here, because if not it would be way too long. That's why it's a little short. I hope you guys liked it, votes & comments are always appreciated.

Reading this chapter after I posted it, it's so bad 💀