Shadows of the Night •a Stranger Things story•

At Least I'd Know Why

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"We have to pick up Nancy first," Barbara speaks up, cutting through the tense silence that fills the car as she drives down the road. Large trees on either side of the gravel cast large shadows in the night. A few streetlamps do minimal to push the long tendrils of darkness away. Leaves rustle in the wind and fly behind the car as it moves along at a reasonable speed.

Ronda nods meekly, her dark eyes staring straight ahead. "Okay," she whispers, afraid to look over at the young woman she finds so beautiful. Barbara can't feel the same way as Ronda. Girls aren't supposed to like other girls; not in a small town like Hawkins, where things never change. It would be strange to see two girls holding hands on the sidewalk or kissing in the back of the movie theater. People don't like strange things, but stranger things have happened, haven't they?

Ronda shifts in her seat, toward Barb, whose glasses glint in the passing of a streetlamp. What Ronda wouldn't give to take off those glasses and stare into Barb's gentle brown eyes. To count the freckles on her skin. To hold her hand and kiss her smooth, pale skin.

"It's not too far," Barb adds, trying to fill the silence again. Maybe she's just as nervous as Ronda. What if she knows that Ronda likes her, and she's uncomfortable being alone in a car with her? That's why she keeps talking about picking up Nancy. She doesn't want Ronda to know that she'll be alone with her.

Ronda peers down at her hands in her lap, picking at her blouse. She nods. "Okay."

Barb looks over for a moment, her hands still tight on the wheel. "You keep saying that," she chuckles. Ronda's heart aches; she loves Barb's laugh. She loves Barb's soft wavy curls. Unlike Chris's harshly vibrant red hair, Barb's is a darker, more auburn red.

"I—sorry," Ronda spits out. She furrows her eyebrows to herself, unable to will herself to look up at her crush. "I'm not too good with small talk."

Barbara nods, smiling. "We don't have to talk. I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk or not."

Ronda's heart leaps at the innuendo of doing other things besides talking. Of course, that isn't what Barb meant. Ronda shakes her head a bit. "No. It's okay. Not sure what to talk about."

"I like your blouse," Barb offers. "Where'd you get it?"

Ronda's eyes light up. "Oh, that boutique in town. Next to the old cafe. It's really pretty inside. You should check it out. They have nice deals."

"Maybe," Barb starts, her voice hushed now. She doesn't dare look over at Ronda as she swallows her pride. "Maybe we could go together...some time?" Barb holds her breath, unwilling to say another word. She risks a peek over at Ronda.

The chocolate-skinned girl bites her lip to keep herself from screaming out with joy. She has to remind herself it isn't a date. This is just two friends planning a fun girl's day. Ronda nods, hiding her wide grin. "Yeah. And we could get coffee afterwards," she adds, throwing caution to the wind.

Barb hides her own smile, tilting her head as she pulls up in Nancy Wheeler's driveway. "I'd like that."

Robbie sits on the edge of Chris's tiny bed as the girl lays quietly. He's scanning the pages of one of her old Stephen King books with a bored look on his face. Robbie throws the book back on a stack of other books and notices a picture of Chris when she was younger. She's with her little sister Sara. The two of them are smiling wide up at the camera.

"Robbie?" Chris questions, squinting at him as she raises her head off the pillow.

"Sleeping Beauty," he teases, turning back to her. Chris rests her head back on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. She presses her eyelids together tightly. Robbie tilts his head, sitting down on the bed. "Are you sure you're—"