A NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION
Ryan Fordman has lived next door to Steve Harrington her entire life. Her entire life, he'd always been a window away, occasionally shouting across the space between their houses. They were inseparable... at least, they we...
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Ryan and Nancy walked through the funeral home, heading to the back where the casket selection was held. It was a place she knew well, one burned into her memory, even though she tried to ignore it. Apparently, Jonathan was making the necessary arrangements for Will's funeral, including having to pick out the casket.
Will's funeral. He was planning Will's funeral. A part of her wanted to tell him what she knew, the possibility that Will was still out there, still alive, but she didn't know how to prove it. She had nothing to go off of other than a sound. A sound of crying.
"Before we go in," Ryan stopped, turning to Nancy. "Can I ask you something?" Nancy nodded. "Do you think that thing we saw behind Steve's and in the photo could have taken Will?"
"It's just a theory, but I think so." Nancy admitted, biting her lip. If he- it took Barb, there is a possibility that it took Will too."
"Will is still alive." Ryan said before she could stop herself. It didn't make sense to try to keep it to herself, not when Nancy had cracked another piece of the puzzle.
"With any luck, they both are." Nancy agreed. "Though I don't know how that would work with Will's body being found."
Ryan paused, ready to make her case and debunk the idea of Will being dead when she realized that Nancy had a point. They found a body- how do you argue with a dead body? The thought alone gave her a headache.
The two girls made their way over to the room housing the model caskets. Ryan led the way, moving based on muscle memory. If Jonathan was here, if he had already gone through the difficult part of talking to the funeral director, he would be searching for the right casket. A casket for a little boy.
Every step she took, the less sure she felt about everything. Not only was she feeling confused about what to say when she saw Jonathan, she was also feeling an overwhelming amount of emotions all mixed together, none of them pleasant.
The duo stopped at the door, looking in to see Jonathan reluctantly looking at a model casket. The sight made Ryan's heart hurt, she had never seen him look so sad, so broken. She wanted to fix it, to tell him everything was going to be okay, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. None of her knowledge was useful to anyone yet.
Jonathan looked up, seeing Nancy and Ryan standing in the doorway, excusing himself to make his way over. "Hey guys, right now isn't really a good time for me to argue-"
Ryan didn't give him a chance to finish his words, throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him close to her. The action caught him by surprise as only yesterday she was declaring him a hypocrite and wanted nothing to do with him. However, Jonathan slowly returned the hug as Nancy looked on with a small smile.
"I'm sorry about yesterday, before everything, I really am," She started rambling. "I should have stayed behind to hear what you had to say-"
"Ryan, calm down." Jonathan cut her off as he pulled away from the hug. "It's okay, you had every right to be upset. You don't need to apologize." He glanced over at Nancy. "What is it you guys are here for if you aren't here to argue with me?"
