Strangely

Chapter Two: All the Wrong Moves

Pop.

Off came the lid to the mystery box, tumbling onto the floor. Nancy flinched, expecting a beam of light or an Upside Down slug to jump out. But nothing. No lights, no noise, no nothing.

Nancy's muscles loosened and she unshielded her eyes. Dropping the wire hangar, and stepping down from her bed, she got closer to investigate the mysterious gift. With her finger, she carefully lifted the box up so she could get a closer look.

Delicately placed in a bed of cloth, a tiny, silver, eight-headed figurine sat staring at Nancy.

The Thesselhydra.

A few months ago, she wouldn't have been able to identify the little Dungeons and Dragons figurine. But now, after she had stolen Mike's Monster Manual numerous times in search of answers about the Upside Down, she could easily tell what crazy beast this figure was depicting.

Had Mike wrapped this up? Was this actually for her? What did this little game piece mean, if anything?

Nancy picked up the Thesselhydra and placed it on the top of her dresser. Normally, something little like this wouldn't cause her to wonder. But after the events with Will Byers, and the Demigorgon, it was obvious this D&D figure meant something. And she would figure it out. Nancy returned downstairs to Mike and Holly to organize her new clothes and gifts, ideas of what that Thesselhydra could mean scattering her thoughts.

Briiiing! Briiiing! Briiiing!

The obnoxiously loud phone made Nancy nearly leap out of her skin. She was still a little on edge, obviously. Mike jumped from the floor, insisting he would get it. He greeted the caller, smiling, and Nancy watched his smile grow smaller and smaller. He groaned and held the phone out.

"Nancy, it's for you," he grumbled. She smiled and snatched the phone from his hand. Mike was mumbling to himself as he went back to reading his new King.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Nance." The voice, warm and inviting, belonged to her boyfriend, Steve.

Well, her "boyfriend." After the Demigorgon incident, Steve had actually proven himself worthy of Nancy. And without any official announcement, really, the two had gotten back together. Steve had come over last afternoon, on Christmas Eve, and her family was surprisingly alright with it. She was pretty happy with Steve. He was caring, kind, and comforting, everything one would want in a boyfriend.

But something was missing.

Right? When you're dating someone, you're supposed to be practically in love, and always thinking of your significant other. But for Nancy, she wasn't, well... She wasn't "focused" on Steve like she should be. But she did care about him. A lot. He had helped her and cared about her, despite those other things, like the graffiti, and fighting Jonathan...

Was what she was missing Jonathan?

She shook her head. It couldn't be. That's ridiculous. She was dating Steve. She had made her choice. And that's who was on the other line, right then, calling her.

"Hey Steve," she stuttered, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," he laughed, "how's it going at the Wheeler's?"

Nancy looked around the house, as if to collect data to answer his question. "Pretty merry," she insisted, sarcastically, "Mike and Hol are just playing with their gifts and stuff. Mom and Dad are probably fighting about the grandparents coming or something." She rolled her eyes.

Steve laughed on the other end. "Well, if you're not too busy with your grandparents on Saturday, would you be interested in actually seeing All the Right Moves? It's only playing for another three days. Last chance."