Stars Constant | S. Harrington

8: A Monsters Mind

Nancy looks at the cans and shakes her head. "I don't think my parents ever loved each other."

"They must've married for some reason," Gwen says.

Nancy raises the gun. "My mom was young. My dad was older, but he had a cushy job, money, came from a good family. So they bought a nice house at the end of the cul-de-sac... and started their nuclear family," Nancy closes one eye and shoots the gun, hitting the can first try, right in the middle.

They all chuckle in amazement and Nancy holds out the gun for Gwen to take.

"Guess it's my turn to trauma dump, huh?" Gwen takes the gun, flipping it to inspect the dark metal. "I can't remember my birth parents."

Nancy's eyes widen slightly at the new information. "At all?"

Gwen shakes her head. "Nope, I don't remember their faces, or voices, or anything," Gwen holds up the gun and points it at the next can. "All I know is that my parents gave me up and abandoned me for whatever reason. Stranded me in a place that I hated. I didn't even get a letter or anything. I lost everything because of them."

"Screw that," Jonathan says.

"Yeah... screw that."

Gwen pulls the trigger and hits the can, slightly missing the middle, but hitting it nonetheless.

"Yeah... Nance gets the gun," Gwen smiles.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The three teens are now walking through the woods behind Steve's house. Gwen holds her baseball bat over her shoulder and makes small conversation with the other two.

"You never said what we were saying," Nancy tells Jonathan.

"What?" Gwen asks.

"Yesterday when we're were developing the pictures, Jonathan said we were saying something and that's why he took our picture."

Gwen turns to Jonathan. "Oh? And what was I saying?"

Jonathan shrugs awkwardly, still feeling guilty for taking the pictures in the first place. "Uh, I don't know. I guess I just saw this girl that wanted to live for once in her life."

Gwen raises her eye brows in curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"Like... she wanted to be free, I guess."

Gwen nods her head and looks forward. "I can't really be mad at that," she says, knowing that what Jonathan had seen was the truth.

"And mine?" Nancy asks.

"Well, I guess I just saw this girl, you know, trying to be someone else," Jonathan explains. "But for that moment... it was like you were alone, or you thought you were. And, you know, you could be yourself."

Nancy walks in silence for a minute while thinking about Jonathan's words. "That is such bullshit," she says, shaking her head.

Jonathan stops in his tracks in surprise. "What?"

Nancy stops and turns around, Gwen doing the same but stood off to the side, feeling a bit awkward already. "I am not trying to be someone else. Just because I'm dating Steve and you don't like him-"