Any Time At All

Chapter Twenty-One

"You two were one of the last people to see Barbara Holland before she went missing" The police officer says.

"Oh," You and Steve say in unison.

"Yeah, so, first question," The officer looks down at his paper and back up to Steve. "Now, uh..Mr. Harrington-"

"Just call me Steve, man," Steve says, tired of his last name.

"Right, my apologies. So...you were the party host, were you not?" The officer asks

"Yeah, my parents were out of town, like any other teenager, I had a small party. It was just me, Nancy, Barbara, Tommy, and Carol," Steve is already defending himself. 

"I'm not accusing you of anything Mr.-...Steve. I'm just going to ask you a few simple questions. Relax," the officer demonstrates the in through the nose, out through the mouth breathing technique. "Alright, was there alcohol involved in this party? Any drugs?"

"Wha-? No! I mean-" Steve starts twitching. "We had some...alcohol," he admits.

"So there was alcohol and drugs?" the officer questions.

"No, no!" he hastily shouts. "No, just the....mmmmchhchmm....just the alcohol," he clears his throat some more. He runs a hand through his hair and shoots a look over to you. You have one eyebrow in the air and are amused by his jittering.

"Alright," the officer writes it down. "Now, when was the last time that you saw Ms. Holland?"

"We had all been in the pool and when we got inside, she caught Nance at the bottom of the staircase before we-" he looks over at you and you're fidgeting with your fingers. "changed."

"Changed? Ok," the officer writes it down. "Ms. Webb?" You whip your head up. "Ms. Wheeler told us that you had seen them at the party through your window."

"What?" Steve looks at you "Were you spying on us?"

"No, not like that. I live right next to you, in case you forgot. You guys were being loud and I went to the window to see what was going on." You say this so they don't think you're being creepy. Steve nods his head and rubs the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.

"Ok, from your perspective," the officer begins, "did Ms. Holland seem depressed, angry, or anything like that? We assume that she ran away and we were also informed that you could hear their conversations. As an outsider, we would like you're view."

"She just looked sad, like she didn't want to be there. She isn't much for parties or any group gatherings. She's quiet, keeps to herself, you know?" You say.

"Ok, thank you both for being so cooperative. Have a nice day." The officer guides you out of the cafe and parts ways with the two of you when you get into the hallway.

"So you were spying on us?" Steve asks as you two walk down the hallway.

"Cable was out, I was in desperate need of entertainment," you joke. He gives you a look for you to be serious. "Not exactly, I was going to bed and I heard the music and I opened the window. As for the rest, I could just hear everything. Did you know that we're neighbors? It's so weird." You end up being sarcastic and laughing by yourself. 

"Well, I better get going...to class," He stops short and gives you a nod before quickly walking away. Had you said something that upset him? You begin to walk back to the library but you stop and realize that you have all of your stuff with you. You turn the other way and dash out the front doors. You get in your car and drive home. 

When you get home, you immediately go on the phone and call Nancy. The phone rings and rings again before she picks up. "Helloo?" Nancy drags out her greeting lazily, like she is completely zoned out or focused on something. 

"Hey, Nancy. It's (Y/N)," You say and wait for her to hang up the phone

"Hey, what's up?" She still doesn't sound all there.

"Well, where do I start? I just got done with questioning from the police. Barb is missing and my best friend is angry with me," you pause and wait for her to say something. You sense that she is still mad at you and continue. "Listen, I know that you probably don't really want to talk to me but, well...I need my best friend. I think we both need each other right now, don't you agree?" You don't hear anything on the other side. "Nance?"

"How soon can you be here?" She asks, ignoring your whole "speech." 

"I'll be right there!" you jump off the phone and go to the Wheeler house. You knock on the door and it opens immediately. Nancy drags you in and pulls your arm, guiding you up the stairs. "Jesus, Nancy! You're going to pull my arm out of the socket."

"Look," she holds up a poorly taped together photograph of a girl sitting on a diving board in front of a pool.

"What is this? Wait-that's Barb. This is Steve's pool! That would mean, from this angle, that someone had to take this photo from the woods. Where did you get this?" You ask.

"Never mind that! Look in the top right. What do you see?" She asks and bites her nail.

You squint your eyes, as if it will make the image clearer. Then, finally, you see it. A tall strange figure. "What the hell is that?"

"I'm not sure but it's the same thing that I saw in the back of Steve's house. The day after the party, I went back to Steve's-" You cut her off.

"Yeah, I know. I overheard your conversation at lunch."

"What? God, you're so weird. Anyway, I think that this thing-monster...took Barb," she looks frightened.

"So, what does this mean?" You ask her.

"I'm not sure. But I think I know who to ask." She looks at you with her brows furrowed and tears about to fall from her eyes. "I'm sorry that I freaked out on the phone."

"It's fine, Nance. Don't worry about it. We're going to find Barb." You hug her and she holds you tight. When she lets go, she wipes the tears that stream down her face. "Now, where is this person who knows about the monster or...thing or - whatever?"

"We have to make a call first," Nancy holds up a finger and picks up the phone. She puts in a number and waits patiently. "Hi, Mrs.Byers. This is Nancy, I go to school with Johnathan....Yeah. Do you know where I might find him? I thought I might give him some school work to get his mind off of everything. I am so sorry for your loss, by the way....it sucks....Oh! thank you so much!...Alright...you too. Bye."

"All set?" You ask holding up your keys.

"Let's go," Nancy grabs her jacket and you both leave with the strange picture that will change your life forever.