Something ▹ STRANGER THINGS

VI. PHANTOMS

          "What are you talking about?"

          "Faye, wait-"

          "You know what? Forget it. Until you jerks are ready to tell me whatever you've been hiding, you know where to find me." Faye snapped.

          She began to pedal down the street where other kids were walking and buses and parents' cars were pulling in and driving out, leaving the boys behind to feel guilty about what they did. Mike stared off at the girl, feeling shame override his system while Lucas and Dustin...

           "Great," Dustin sighed. "Now what are we going to tell our moms? We just lost our freaking babysitter!"

          Lucas stared at him with distaste, "That's what you're worried about?"

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         Faye drove around for a couple of hours. She wasn't exactly sure of where she was going; her mind was so full of thoughts that she just started heading in any direction she chose and left it at that. She knew the general area of where she was so getting lost never would've been an issue on her part.

          She continued pedaling for hours and hours in loops down the streets of Hawkins until Faye noticed a blue-colored car parked along the side of the road. It was parked in front of the Harrington house- the one Faye remembered from those... visions, from the previous night. The car didn't belong to Steve; she knew that due to his BMW always screeching into the school parking lot an hour or two after the first bell rang. And typically she would forget this fact and keep driving by, but Faye couldn't help but slam her breaks down and roll abruptly to a stop.

          A single word left Faye's lips, "Barbara."

          Her feet moved by themselves. She started walking towards the woods near the Harrington house and left her bike behind, triggering a feeling inside her. It was a feeling that made her think she had done something like this before. She wasn't sure where, though. It was all very unclear to her, yet she was so sure this had happened somewhere before. Déjà vu, was what the French called it, she believed. Yes, that was it... So where did that feeling come from exactly?

          There was a forest surrounding the Harrington house. Faye was scared to even glance at the mass of trees during the late hours, though she was just thanking her lucky stars that the sun was still lingering around and brightening the otherwise shadowy forest. Through the thick branches and shrubs, Faye saw a pool. The pool.

         "Nancy!" Her voice still echoed in the depths of Faye's mind.

        Faye strode towards it. Her footsteps were soft against the paved poolside. The girl stared down into the pool. It was steady, unmoving, and calm. Yet last night, there was no water inside, the world was bleak and cold, and a girl with so much life left to live was killed there. It almost mocked her. It was so still, as if Barbara wasn't torn to pieces within the very confinements of that damn pool that night before! It was like it was just forgotten altogether or didn't even happen! How could it be so quiet when so much had happened?

         And how was Faye standing there, getting angry at a pool for doing nothing? She realized how stupid she was once the feeling of her nails digging into the skin of her palms finally reached her consciousness. She sighed. Her arms fell limp with defeat.

          So what if Barbra wasn't in school today? Maybe she was sick or something. So what if there was that car on the road? It could have been anybody's. So what if she had that vision? She had that vision the other day about the water and that wasn't true! So maybe none of it was real. Maybe it was all just the stress of losing Will and it was getting to her. Maybe she was-

         A girl with long, wavy, strawberry blonde hair that had been tying back behind her head with a pastel pink scrunchie stood next to a pool. Her back was facing the viewer, only revealing a similarly colored pink sweater and some stonewashed jeans that didn't do much justice to her ass as it did most of the other girls in school. She was unmoving for just a few moments, only gazing down at the pool water. Then, the image shifted ever so slightly, causing a rustle. The girl turned quickly-

          Faye opened her eyes, swiveling her body around when she heard the trees moving from behind her. She scanned the open woods to find nothing but just that. Woods.

          "What the shit was that?" But she knew. She knew that her vision just then was through the eyes of the same thing that killed Barbara Holland. There was no denying that truth at all.

          "Faye, what in the hell are you doing here?" Faye heard. Standing at the backyard gate entrance was Nancy Wheeler. She advanced toward Faye, gripping onto her arm while trying to pull her out of the backyard. "Faye, you can't be he-"

          "What happened to Barbara, Nancy?" Faye asked suddenly which caused Nancy to stop pulling on her arm. "She was here last night, wasn't she? So where did she go? Because, honestly, I'm worried shitless about her! And I know that's why you're here too!"

          Nancy didn't say anything back for a second or two, but the look in her big, blue eyes told the girl to continue on with her words as well as getting the message across that she was feeling the same exact thing as Faye was: Worry and fear. She was just as concerned about Barbara as she was and wanted answers more than anything.

          "What are you talking about, Faye?"

          "I-I don't think Barbara is in a good place right now, Nancy. It... It's a bad place, a bad, bad place." Faye shook her head. There was another movement from the trees behind Faye. She grabbed Nancy's hand, squeezing it tight before booking it towards the backyard gate. "Come on, we need to leave."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

This was so fucking hard to write, you don't even know.  Like, I'm actually considering tearing open my pillow right now because I'm so frustrated with this. The worst part is that it's so much shorter compared to the other chapters yet this one was the most difficult to write because I didn't want it to perfectly mirror the first chapter. BUT IT'S SO FUCKING CHOPPY AND RUSHED AND UNREALISTIC AND I JUST WANT TO DIE.  Anway, two things: 

One, I want to say thank you to VanessaElmore for helping me with the situation that happened a few days ago and to everyone for understanding it.

Two, do you have any headcanons for Fayelynn's character just based on what you've already learned about her? I did this a while ago with my story "A Thousand Years" where I ask you guys if you have any ideas as to things that might not be mentioned in the book but you believe would be true in this universe. For example, I headcanon that at one point, Faye and the boys had secret code names for one another. 

They could be about her relationships, things she enjoys, modern headcanons if you want, or even predictions about her backstory and what the hell she's actually capable of. I just really want to know what kind of impression Faye has on you guys. (Also, I lowkey want to know what you guys are thinking of Nancy and Faye's relationship and what the fuck is up with them.)