my girl || steve harrington

the flea and the acrobat

~

the three teens walked in the woods looking for the creature with no face. jonathan and nancy lingered behind, leaving their friend to walk ahead. while lydia was checking their surroundings and looking for the monster, the two started to bicker. making her way over she listened to their conversation but chose not to get involved.

"okay, alright, does that mean i have to like him?"

"no."

"listen, don't take it so personally, okay? i don't like most people. he's in the vast majority." jonathan said as he started to walk away.

"you know, i was actually starting to think you were okay." the older byers was obviously offended by this comment. "yeah, i was thinking 'jonathan byers,' maybe he's not the pretentious creep everyone says he is." the brunette didn't want this to escalate further than it already had. she knew she had to intervene.

"nance!" but it didn't stop there. stomping back over, the teen came at nancy with an abundance of insults of his own.

"well i was just starting to think you were okay. i was thinking, 'nancy wheeler,' she's not just another suburban girl who thinks she's rebelling by doing exactly what every other suburban girl does, until that phase passes and they marry some boring one-time jock who now works sales, and they live out a perfectly boring little life at the end of a cul-de-sac. exactly like their parents, who they thought were so depressing, but now hey, they get it." lydia had tried to interrupt him so he would stop but he just kept going. he lumbered off, passing the obviously hurt girl.

"jonathan!" she yelled as he kept walking. she looked back at nancy who stood in disbelief. "nance, come on he didn-" however instead of listening to her friend she pushed past her and followed the heated boy. holding the hockey stick in one hand and the gun in another, she let her arms drop as she looked up at the sky through the trees, the clouds obstructing the view of the sun.

"great, now i'm stuck with these numb nuts."

~

walking in the woods at night in silence was not a hobby lydia would suggest taking up. she wanted to say something to her friends but nothing helpful came to mind. her thoughts were halted when a whimpering sound came from somewhere in the woods. both her and nancy stopped in their tracks.

"what, are you tired?" jonathan snapped.

"shut up." he questioned the two girls as they paused to listen again. "we heard something." the sound occurred again and this time all three heard it. following the general direction of the noise, the trio stumbled upon an injured deer. blood was splattered over it's neck and torso and it looked up at the group with sad eyes. lyds dropped to her knees and placed the hockey stick on the ground. gently, she placed her hand on it's ribcage and pet it softly. the other two joined her and looked at the animal in grief.

"it's been hit by a car." nancy reached out to touch the poor creature. "we can't just leave it." tears welled up in the girls' eyes, knowing what had to be done.

"it's okay pretty girl, it'll be okay." she retracted her hand and a few tears fell. wiping them away, the brunette watched jonathan aim. both girls watched as his hands shook and listened to his breathing turn shaky. before the boy got to pull the trigger, the deer was suddenly dragged away, causing all of them to jump.

"what was that?" nancy gasped. lydia was at a loss for words. her mouth was agape, but she couldn't find it in herself to form words.

they followed the trail of blood and briefly split from jonathan. the older wheeler gestured for the girl to come over to a tree that was oozing some sort of slimy substance. they called for the boy but got no answer. the gaping hole in the trunk was big enough for the girls to crawl through, but just barely. nancy went first and lydia followed close behind. they emerged covered in a thin layer of whatever goo coated the inside of the trunk. when they looked around, it looked like the woods they were just in but everything seemed like it was dead. it was significantly colder than it was in the woods and it made the girls shiver. the scenery looked tinged with a blueish hue, and the air felt different. it felt like it was thick enough to hold in one hand but it thin to inhale, like at the top of a mountain. particles were almost suspended in the air, and the only sounds that could be heard was the breathing of the two girls.

as they slowly ventured further into this new world their flashlights flickered, increasing lydia's anxiety by tenfold. they didn't get very far in when both girls realized they had company. turning swiftly, they faced the back of the faceless creature who was devouring the deer. the sound of it ripping into the flesh of the poor animal filled their ears and the snarls made their blood run cold. gripping the hockey stick tighter, the teen felt her heartbeat quicken at the sight. slowly backing away, the girls tried to flee but the crunch of a branch made their presence known. the creature turned towards them and roared, causing them to scream and run.