love me - stranger things²

[017] headaches.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

headaches.

IT WAS WELL PAST NOON, THE SUN LETTING OFF A SOFT, WARM GLOW. The six gathered around one of the picnic tables that sat in the caravan park, Jennifer sitting with one of her legs resting up on the seat so that she could rest her chin on her knee. "No, Fred and Chrissy don't make sense." Nancy commented. "I mean, why them?"

"Maybe they were just in the wrong place. They were both at the game." Dustin considered.

"And near the trailer park."

At that, Steve raised his brows in concern, his hand subconsciously moving over to make gentle contact with Jennifers thigh. "We're at the trailed park. Uh, should we maybe not be here?" He questioned, looking around. 

"There is something about this place. Fred started acting weird the second we got here." Nancy noted, thinking about how odd Fred had been the moment they drove into the park.  

"Acting weird as in...?"

"Scared... on edge, upset."

Beneath the table, Steve's fingers subtly, repeatedly tapped at Jennifer's thigh, the physical contact bringing him a sense of security in the anxiety-filled situation. Jennifer shifted her hand, her pointer-finger and thumb holding onto one of Steve's fingers, gently playing with his calloused skin. 

Though the interaction was subtle, going unnoticed by the others, it brought the couple the comfort that they so desperately needed. "Max said Chrissy was upset, too." Dustin remembered.

"Yeah, but not here. She was crying in the bathroom at school." And with that, the six felt they were practically back at square one. 

"Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right? So, maybe Fred and Chrissy saw this Vecman-" Robin began explaining before she was cut off by Dustin correcting the name to 'Vecna'. 

"Dunno about you guys, but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone." Steve commented, Jennifer nodding in agreement. 

"Maybe they did. I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelly's office. If you saw a monster, you... you wouldn't go to the police. They'd never believe you."

Before Max could continue, Jennifer cut her off, understanding where the girl was going with everything. "But you would tell your shrink." The girl finished for her, Max nodding her head. 

Only a few more moments passed until the six stood up, making their way to Steve's car; all except for Nancy. "Whoa, whoa, Nance. Nance!" Steve called out once he noticed the girl wandering away towards her car. "Where are you going?" He questioned. 

"Oh, there's just something I wanna check out first." She said, still slowly making her way to her own car.

"And that something is..." Jennifer questioned, curious as to what the girl was thinking.

"I don't wanna waste your time. It's a real shot in the dark." 

Jennifer quickly shook her head in disapproval. "Yeah, no."

"That's not a good idea. Especially with this Vecna creep on the loose. Here, Jennifer and I will go with Nancy. Take the car, check out the shrink." Steve said, grasping onto Jennifers hand before throwing the keys to Robin.