MARLEY // Max Mayfield

Stalker

Slamming Steve's car door behind her Marley jogged up to the Wheeler residence and knocked thrice, twice and then thrice again, hearing the sounds of rushing and stuff clattering to the floor from the other side.

The door swung open and Marley was met with first confusion, realisation and finally glee, Nancy engulfed her in a hug and she reciprocated, picking her up and swinging her around like she weighed nothing.

"Nance, you have no idea how much I missed you!" She grinned, setting Nancy back on the ground. The girl beamed and continued staring up at her, marvelling at how different she looked.

"Marley! I missed you too!" She said grabbing the back of Marley's head and gently tugging her down so she could place a kiss on her crown. "God, will you ever stop growing!?"

"Better question is when will you start growing?" Marley smirked, holding a hand up above Nancy's head and tucking her other in her pocket, "You're what? 5'3? So small..."

"Stop it," Nancy huffed, slapping the girl's hand away and readjusting her bag. "You're just freakishly tall."

"Must be something I ate," Marley grinned. Steve beeped his car horn, garnering the girls' attention, "We're coming! Jeez, don't worry, I'm not going to steal your girl!" Steve rolled his eyes, "Although we both know I could if I wanted to!"

"In your 9-year old selfs dreams," Nancy said, hitting Marley's chest and skipping off to her boyfriend's car. Marley blanked a moment rubbing at the sore spot around her ribs before laughing and shaking her head.

"You remembered that?" She exclaimed, running up beside the girl she now saw, only, as an older sister.

"Oh yeah, how could I forget little Marley Harrington coming up to me with a bouquet of roses, asking me to be your girlfriend?" She grinned. Marley groaned and rolled her eyes remembering that day all too clearly. "I still have the little card."

"Burn it," Marley urged, opening the passenger side door for her. She shut it and got in the back, leaning over the console so her face was in between Steve and Nancy as they went in for a kiss, subsequently landing on Marley's cheeks. The girl grinned and leaned back in her seat, Nancy laughing and Steve grumbling to himself, "Aw shucks, I missed you too."

"You're biking next time."

"I only came this morning because of Nancy," Marley huffed, laying against the length of the backseat with her knees tucked to her chest, just staring at the ceiling of the car, "not because I like spending time with you, Stevie."

"You wound me."

***

Marley leant up against Steve's car, waiting for the boys to pull up in the lot. She could faintly hear Steve and Nancy talking about his essay but didn't really pay it any mind, opting to pull out her notepad to scribble a few things down.

Ever since last year, ever since the upside-down, Marley had been having rare moments where she found herself transfixed on drawing, it wasn't obsessive and it didn't feel compulsory in any way. It was more as if, she was reverting back to her childhood habits. She liked to draw when she was little, loved all the little stickmen and designs she made with Will so it wasn't random and out of the blue, more like a budding flower getting ready to bloom for another season.

However, she did it rarely, as a sort of pass time and whenever she did, it was always sketches of the Party and occasional drawings of the upside-down. Though there was one thing she never drew but always sort of wanted to. The Demogorgon.

She sort of wanted to see it again, like a gross fascination. It had hurt her, scarred her, mentally wounded her and had been the catalyst that had eventually had her sent to Florida, yet she wanted to see it again, wanted to constantly have a face to the name of the beast that destroyed her that singular November week.