Curious [Nancy Wheeler X Oc]

-2-

Maybe she felt brave- maybe she was just really, really stupid. But Nancy ignored the voice screaming in the back of her head to run, to forget the plan, abort mission. She trooped along, each footstep adding an extra beat to her heart. And then she stood in front of Lydia.

The girl was a mess. And that was a large understatement.

Nancy didn't know what it was lately. Of course it could be her. Her and her dumb decisions. Her and her way of going after what people expected. But she shook the thoughts away; she had to stay in the present if she wanted to ever move forward with her life.

Lydia jumped harshly when she felt the small hand on her shoulder. She ripped her sleeve back down to cover her wrist and turned, coming face to face with Nancy.

"Drew," was the cold response Nancy got.

She took a deep breath and shook her head slightly, bringing a smile to her face. "Lydia. I just...me and Steve, we're studying in the library if you wanna come with. Steve wanted me to ask you," she added the last sentence quickly as Lydia had rolled her eyes and turned to walk away.

Nancy caught her wrist and spun her around, pulling her hand back as she saw Lydia wince. "Is it still sore?" She asked softly. Lydia hid her arm in her jacket instinctively, the ghost of the cast still itching in her memory. "Yeah. Just needs more time to heal, I guess."

Nancy nodded slowly but Lydia could see the doubt in her eyes.

"I'm fine, Drew. Really," she assured, giving the brunette a small smile. Nancy nodded again, bringing her bottom lip in between her teeth.

"So, about the studying?"

***

The best part about the library was that it was air conditioned, unlike the rest of Hawkins High. Lydia felt suffocated in the sweater that once belonged to Steve. It hung past her fingertips by a few inches and went to her middle thigh, but it was soft and smelled like his house- the one place she could always run to. Needless to say, it was her favorite, but mixing that with walking around all day and the heaters in the classroom to chase out the chilly Hawkins October, Lydia was practically doomed to sweat stains and dizziness.

She laid her head on the table now, breathing in relief as the chill calmed down the fever like temperature of her skin. Steve and Nancy were each doing their own thing, Steve throwing Lydia small glances now and then.

It was hard at first to really explain everything to him. Lydia hadn't even really come to terms with it herself. She of course kept the part about her and Nancy a secret, still denying any part of the rumor Beverly had spread around school. But she did tell Steve about the way she felt towards girls, and how it had never been that way with guys.

He had been in shock, but the first thing he had done was apologize. It had taken Lydia aback, but she knew why. "I've just...I've been such a dick. I've been so rude about the whole, you know...being gay thing. You should've told me earlier, Lyd."

That was when Lydia had broke down into sobs, and she had ended up spending that night with him, just talking about everything she had wanted to tell him since they broke up as kids.

He smiled at her now, and gave her an awkward thumbs up. She gave one back, and he nodded before returning to his work. It was like a code for them. If you weren't feeling it but didn't want to directly say anything, the thumbs method was the way to go.