One

Chapter One - part two

Phina had cooled off since this morning, the new kid, Billy Hargrove, blissfully not in her first few class. When said class had started, Phina had still been raging, breathing deeply to try and calm down.
   No one dared talk to her, not until she started drawing. Everyone knew, drawing calmed her, and it worked. She drew the forest, half of the page dedicated to fall, the other to spring. With this drawing, she took control, not letting her mind wander. She hadn't done that in a year, to scared to see what would become of it.
   Now, she walked through the hallway, her mind filled with the colors of nature, her drawing bringing her peace, if only for the moment.
   Phina sees Jonathan and Nancy walking down the hallway together. She smirks a little at their backs, an idea pops into her head. She takes a running start and jumps onto Jonathan's back, he yelps as he stumbles forward, barely keeping them upright.
   She was laughing loudly at him and he yelled halfheartedly at her, "what the hell Phina!"
"Come on Jon, you have to expect these things by now," she laughs.
"Well I'm sorry I'm not constantly on gaurd for an attack," Jonathan chuckles, holding her legs so she won't fall.
"What are you guys talkin' about," Phina asks.
Nancy hands her an extra flier for Tina's Halloween party, "I'm trying to convince Jonathan to go to the party, but he's won't."
"As I was going to say before I was attacked, I'm going trick or treating with Will," Jonathan defends himself, gesturing towards Phina when he said attacked.
"All night," Nancy asks, raising an eyebrow.
Jonathan looks at her, "yeah."
"No, no way." Nancy shakes her head. "You're going to be home by eight."
"Yeah," Phina nods.
"Listening to the Talking heads," Nancy continues.
Phina smirks, "yep."
"And reading Vonnegut, or something."
   "Oh yeah, definitely Vonnegut," Phina laughs.
   "Sounds like a nice night," Jonathan chuckles.
   Phina shrugs, "he's not wrong."
   Nancy gives her a look and turns to open her locker, "Jonathan, just come. And who knows you might even meet someone...."
   Steve runs up behind Nancy and lifts her in the air getting a little scream from her. Phina feels her smile slip from her face at the sight of them.
   "Oh my god, take those stupid things off," Nancy jokingly orders him.
   "I missed you," he replies, taking off the glasses as told.
   "It's been, like an hour," Nancy smiles.
   "Tell me about it," he smirks, pulling her in for a kiss, a long one.
   Phina hides her face in Jonathan's shoulder so no one can see the sad look that befalls her face. Her blood red curls curtain her face, helping her hide even more. She hated herself for being like this, for not being happy for her sister, but she couldn't help it. It hurt, seeing them so happy. Out of all the things she had been through, monsters, powers, labs, this feeling was the strangest.
   Jonathan turns his head towards her and sees her distraught features, she was feeling the same as him. He turned them away from the happy couple and starts to walk down the hallway, towards Phina's next class. She hugs her arms around him tighter in a silent thank you, but she knew she didn't need to, leaving was just as much for him as it was for her.
   Back at Nancy's locker, Steve watches them leave, his eyes on Phina. She tightenes her arms around Jonathan, burying her face deeper into his shoulder, an emotion rose up in Steve, one that he tried to push away as quickly as possible, jealousy.
   Him and Nancy were perfect, the star couple of Hawkins, he was happy with her. He loved her, didn't he? Of course he did, he loved her and only her. The problem was, the image that flashed through his mind at the mention of love, wasn't Nancy.

   Phina strolles through the forest, running the tips of her fingers across the bark of the trees. Each touch brought her more energy, calmed her stressful mind. The trees almost pushed into her touch, like an animal wanting to be pet. They recognized her, as one of them. Nature was her friend, her family.
   She breathes in the cold air, smelling all of the rich scents the forest had to offer. Rain, that had fallen days ago, still lingeres in the air, the soil still damp from it. It was beautiful, all of it.
She had her art supplies with her, the ones the Byers had gifted to her. She was going to make a pastel painting today, the pastels unused from when Jonathan got them for her birthday.
Phina set up the canvas and sat down before it, she takes one look at the scene in front of her, and then her artists soul comes to life. She noticed every detail, cataloging them in order of color, of large to small. One art lesson she always thought of before she began, start with the background. She grabs the blue sky in her hand, and with the first stroke, she is gone. Lost to the world of color. Her hands quickly become a painting of their own, the pastel marking her skin, marking the path she took to bring the forest to life.
   Towards the edges, the forest was dull, already gripped by winters embrace, she started from there, creating life as she traveled inwards. Blue, to gray, to orange and red. The leaves floating away in the winter winds, barely tasting the fading warmth of the summer sun. Life was brought back, the more she traveled in, yet it never quiet reaches spring. Not until, at the very center of the page, a single, vibrant, red rose blossomed. True life, thriving, saying no to the cold and turning it's face towards the sun. It refused to falter, to fade into winter, it refused. Nothing could take away its life, for it was graced by her, the creator of this world, Mother Nature.
   When Phina finishes her signature at the bottom of the canvas, she stands, breathing in deeply. Life was always there, even in the deepest of winters, it survived.
   Well after Phina had packed up and left, that life began. Where Phina had sat, painting for hours on end, grew a single, vibrant, thriving, red rose.

-1069 words-
I know this chapter was very OC, but there wasn't many scenes in the MADMAX where I though Phina would need to be, not to mention, it was a good time to dive a little more into Phina's powers, emotions;), and her passions. Hope you enjoyed.
-Morgan