Angelica "Freak Two" Munson

Chapter 9

"Alright," Hopper sets down a medical kit before pulling out supplies, "since you're the only one left in a decent state of mind, you're gonna have to hold her down."

"O-Okay," Steve stutters, wrapping his arms around Angie's waist and pulling her close.

"Now, I shouldn't be offering this to a minor but its the strongest pain meds we've got right now. Its probably gonna hurt like hell. Sorry, kid."

She doesn't respond, grabbing the alcohol and downing it instantly.

"I really hope you pass out." Hopper mumbles as he pulls out a needle to begin stitching.

Angie leans further into Steve, gripping his sleeves forcefully as Hopper begins, "Fuck!"

This moment is the most painful thing Angelica Munson has ever experienced. It feels like her whole leg is enflamed and she can't catch a break. She tries to stay strong for as long as can when Hopper's wish doesn't come in their favor.

"Stop! Stop!" she yells as they reach the halfway point on the large wound.

Hopper shakes his head guiltily as he continues.

"Stop! Stop!" she sobs once more, "Please stop!"

"Stop! Stop! She said to stop!" Steve places his hand in Hopper's view.

"We can't stop. We're barely halfway done." he groans.

"Look at her! She's completely miserable. Let's just give her break."

"I know she is! You don't think I know that? We have to keep going. I don't want to, but we have to. Those things are unsupervised. We need to alert proper authorities!"

"Please," he begs for the girl, "Just a few minutes."

Hopper sighs, giving in, "Alright. I'm gonna go inside and make a few calls, so we can get some help with those things... We'll continue when I get back, okay?"

"Thank you." she cries, taking a small sigh of relief as she throws her head back against his chest.

Steve subconsciously strengthens his grip around her waist, "I'm so sorry about this, Angie."

"Its not... your fault."

"Yes it is. If I would've just paid closer attention or forced you back onto that bus, you wouldn't be in this situation." Steve says, voice wavering.

"You can't blame yourself... for that, Steve." she whispers, looking up at his broken gaze.

"I very well can, Angie. I'm doing a pretty damn good job of it right now." he let's out a dry laugh, "You were right. I really am an ass. You're sitting here with your leg half exposed and I'm talking about how I feel guilty."

"Steve," she guides his face down to look at her, "you saved my life today... fighting off those things... I underestimated you. You're not too popular for this... You're not an ass... you're a really great, caring guy."

He smiles down at her statement.

"And lets be honest... I'm only saying all of this... because of the alcohol." she laughs lightly until seeing Hopper leaving the house, "Fuck."

Luckily, it didn't take Angie long to pass out after he continued stitching. Her body was just too exhausted from fighting.

"Okay," Hopper covers the wound with gauze and an ace wrap, "Take her back inside. We moved Will to his room, so she can have the couch."

He hops out of the truck as Hopper hands Angie over to him. Carrying her bridal style, careful to avoid hitting her thigh, Steve steps through the open door. Everyone's eyes are on him as he arranges pillows under her knee to prop it up. Dustin clears his throat causing everyone to look away from the two as Steve leaves her to rest.

"So, what's the plan?"

[?]

As the adults and other teens leave to ready to the shed for Will's interrogation, the rest of the party returns their gaze towards the injured girl displayed on the couch.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Max asks as she spots Angie's face contorting with discomfort, "We heard the screaming."

"I'm sorry that you guys had to hear that." Steve paces over to readjust her pillows, "I think she's gonna be okay though... Hopefully. She's already been through hell."

"Come on, guys," Dustin sighs, looking down at the ground, "We should let her rest."

The others nod as they disperse to do their tasks.

[?]

"What happened to Angie?" Nancy asks curiously, handing Steve the duct tape.

"I was fighting those dog things and she jumped out of the bus to protect me... She saved my life, Nancy. And I've treated her like shit the entire time I've known her... All because it was what Tommy wanted." he sighs loudly as he places the tarp against the wall.

"That wasn't your fault. You didn't do that to her. She willingly put herself in danger to protect you. That was her choice."

"Yeah, yeah," Steve laughs dryly, running his hand through his hair, "That's basically what she told me not even an hour ago."

They continue in an awkward silence.

"But why?" he shakes his head in question.

"Why what?" Nancy doesn't catch on.

"Why did she risk her life to help me when I've spent basically my entire life treating her like shit- calling her a freak." Steve stops working on their task, placing his hands on his hips.

"Maybe... Maybe its because she's just a good person, Steve... I think she just... moved past all of the things you said because... you're life was more important."

"But I don't deserve it... I don't deserve her as a... a what? An acquaintance? Let's face it, a victim of my rampages as King Steve? I didn't deserve to live through that."

"Maybe not... but she obviously thought that you did." she points to Angie, just barely visible from the open back door.

He sighs, regretting everything he's ever said to her for... for popularity. Was it really worth it? Sure, being popular had its perks, but did he even enjoy it? Has he just been this mindless drone throughout school? Just pushing his morals aside so people would remember him when they think back on school in 20 years? And it wouldn't even be people he liked. It'd be people like Tommy who'll probably be a drunk dud in 20 years. 

All of those freaks he bullied... Angie was right. They're people with feelings. They're not any different from him, and they didn't deserve to be treated that way.

He wasn't sure why this had bothered him so much. Steve had gone through this before: working alongside people that fought to protect him against the creatures from the Upside Down. Why is it that its affected him so much that a person like Angelica Munson has done the same as they've done in the past? 

Maybe he admires the way that she keeps moving forward when life has been nothing but shitty in return. And when it came down to getting revenge for her bad treatment or being good, she chose to be good. He wishes that he had done that with people like Tommy: chose to be good... Who knows, maybe he still can... for her?

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A little bit of a shorter chapter, but I'm fairly happy with it. This is my first story in the Stranger Things universe so please let me know what kinds of content you guys would want for this story.