WARNING: DO NOT ENGAGE [stranger things] [1/2]

XXIII - Teen Idle

"I wanna drink until I ache

I wanna make a big mistake

I want blood, guts and angel cake

I'm gonna puke it anyway"

•  

"So? Where will we go?" Nancy asked as Rosemary pulled into her driveway.

"Oh, you're going home." Rosemary said matter-of-factly. "I'm not going to tell you anything." Nancy gaped at her, while Rosemary just continued to smile sweetly. "Plus, you should'a put it in your other pocket." She smirked, holding up the lighter. Nancy patted her pockets, and dug out the packets of cigarettes with a frown. "You can keep those if you like, sweetheart. I can always buy more."

"Why the hell are you like this?" Nancy spat out. "Why do you think you can just keep everything to yourself? It's going to get you killed. And yet you won't even trust me?"

"I do trust you." Rosemary defended. "But I also care about you. Which is why I'm not going to tell you." She kept a steady gaze on Nancy before the other girl slammed the packet of cigarettes down on the dashboard. "Fine!" She hissed, picking her back up from around her feet. She opened the door "Keep your secrets." She spat, getting out and slamming the door before marching towards her front door. 

"You don't need to keep secrets from me, Nine. I'll look after you. You know I'm the only one who can look after you, don't you?" He ran his fingers through her hair as she sat curled up on the chair, gently coaxing her to speak. To tell him about what she's becoming.

Rosemary shook off the memory with unease as she shut off her engine, hand reaching up to twist her hair around her finger momentarily before she shook herself out of whatever trance she was, getting out of the car and retreating to her own house. Susanita wasn't home from work yet, so Rosemary had plenty of time to sweep anything wrong under the rug.

Susanita, of course, knew of Rosemarys animalistic abilities. It was hard not to, since she'd looked after the girl damn near a decade. But still, ever since she was young and scared, Rosemary had been careful to show her as little as possible. Which was exactly why she was stood at the bathroom sink, desperately washing the dried blood off of her arms before the woman returned. Before she'd gotten the makeshift cotton pad and bandage form the nurses office, it had done a damn good job of soaking her arm and jacket sleeve. It hadn't been comfortable in any way, but she was not going to let the kids see what happened.

She sighed, pressing her hands to her forehead as more blood leaked down her arm, the scent of it overpowering her nose. She muttered empty wishes, her voice raspy and low, and when she braced her arms back onto the sink she looked up to herself in the mirror. She looked exhausted, with dark ring sunder her eyes and hair frizzing out of its ponytail. Her lipstick (red like blood, just like the blood dripping onto the bathroom tiles, just like blood spilling from wounds and dripping from noses) was smudged slightly. She took a deep breath, and began to carefully re bandage her arms.

"Only way." She whispered to herself certainly, nodding as she returned to her room.

She searched for the biggest backpack she owned, and got to organising.