❝MAYBE WHAT WE'VE DONE IS CREATE THE DEVIL IN OUR OWN IMAGE.❞
-DEAN KOONTZ, PHANTOMS (1983)
FAYELYNN'S PARENTS THOUGHT it best to keep her home for the day after the previous night's incident, but Faye refused. She didn't tell them what she saw, but Fayelynn's secret reasoning for wanting to go to school was just to see if Barbara Holland was present. Perhaps if she was there that day, then those visions were just her mind playing cruel tricks on her. But if she wasn't? God, Faye didn't want to think of what she'd feel if she wasn't.
She looked around for Nancy, knowing that where Nancy was, so was Barbara. Yet even when Faye managed to find Nancy standing at her locker that day, there was no Barbara in sight. That didn't mean Barbara wasn't in class though, right? Just because she wasn't with her didn't mean anything. All she had to do was just ask Nancy if she saw Barbara in class that day.
"Hey, Nancy?"
Nancy looked up from her locker and smiled, "Oh, hey, Faye. What's up?"
"Oh, nothing much... Hey, listen. Did Barbara come to school today?"
Nancy thought for a moment. "No, I don't think so. I didn't see her today in class. Why?"
"Um..." Faye had to think of a lie and fast. Luckily, she managed to think of one. "She and I have a project that's due soon, that's all."
"Oh..." Nancy nodded. Faye was about to turn and walk away after she thanked the girl, but Nancy stopped her with her voice piping up once again. "Oh, wait! Where were you this morning?"
"Huh?"
"You usually pick the boys up, don't you? You weren't there this morning."
Faye had to think about it for a moment. "Oh shit.
Then it instantly dawned on her that she completely abandoned the boys earlier that day. She must have been so intent on getting to the school to see if Barbara was in attendance that she just forgot to go to the Wheeler's house and ride with them to school. Faye already knew that this wouldn't end well. They'll never forgive her for forgetting them like that, she just knew it. Perhaps they'd give her the silent treatment or not invite her to one of their campaigns (even though Mrs. Wheeler would invite her anyway so she could stop one of the fights that would no doubt break out if one of the boys was angered about the play another one made.) Things like that have happened before, but they were always sorted out.
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Faye stopped by the middle school that day in hopes of finding the boys at the bike rack so she could apologize. She had rounded up all the loose dollars and change from her pockets and locker so that the kids could head to the diner to get some french fries or something. She knew that they always enjoyed going there whenever Faye got paid, and she enjoyed it too! It was one of the few times so actually felt comfortable being outside of her house. She guessed it was because they saw her smiling for the first time and realized she wasn't so strange after all so they just left the girl alone.
She saw them walking out of the school in their huddle, as per usual. Of course, now, there was one person missing from that huddle. The three were so busy talking to one another that they didn't notice Faye standing near their bikes.
"Hey, boys! Over here!" Faye shouted, capturing their attention.
Dustin, Lucas, and Mike all looked up in tandem and all gained a similar look on their faces. Faye noticed their forms that were now morphing into distressed expressions, but Faye didn't show it on her face that she noticed it. She just kept smiling and pretended everything was fine. The boys began stepping towards her with hesitation, and once again, Faye disregarded that.
"Um... hey, Faye," Dustin said uncharacteristically. "W-What're you doing here?"
"Well, I felt really bad about forgetting you guys this morning, so I thought I could make it up to you with some fries from Benny's, maybe?" Faye shrugged. She noticed the three looking at each other with semi-disapproving looks and guessed that they weren't in the mood for that. "O-Or maybe the ice cream shop down the road? Or even a movie if you guys are up-"
"Faye," Mike interrupted her. "We're sorry, but we can't do anything after school today."
Faye was confused. Typically all the boys did when they got home was homework and then did whatever they felt like after that. There wasn't much else they ever really did, so Faye was curious as to what they were planning. Still, she decided not to pry into it as to keep their bond strong by showing her wasn't suspicious and untrustworthy. So she thought that maybe she could offer something else instead.
"Oh, okay. Then let me at least ride you guys home." Faye offered, getting onto her bike.
"We actually don't need you to do that either."
Her movements halted suddenly. It finally clicked in Faye's mind that the boys- the boys she babysat for years- were now trying to get rid of her. It wasn't a hard assumption to come to, what with everything else these three had done in her presence ever since Will disappeared... Oh, God... they didn't think that...?
"What did I do, Mike?" Faye asked, a blank stare cemented onto her face.
"What?"
"First you keep secrets from me like you can't even trust me. You lie about being sick, and you lie about something you put in your damn closet like I won't notice. T-Then you break something that meant so much to me that you kept! I know that it wasn't what you wanted from me for Christmas but it meant so fucking much to me that you kept it! And what do you do? You smash it to piece just to get me to leave. And-And all I get is a damn half-assed apology on your part. I didn't even say anything! All I did was clean up the mess. And now? Now, you're all trying to push me away!
"Look, I get it you're all worried about Will and so am I! Do you think I've been sleeping soundly knowing that I was in those woods with him the night he went missing? Do you think I've been okay with that? Well, guess what? I haven't! I-I've been losing sleep, I've been shutting my parents out, I've been seeing shit that wasn't even there! I was forced to watch someone die last night and I'm having trouble figuring out if that shit was real or not! I'm a back-seat driver in my own mind! So if you think that I did something to Will or-or you think I'm crazy or something like everyone else in this piece-of-shit town then go on ahead! But if you don't want to be my friend anymore, the least you could've done was tell me first instead of letting me figure it out for myself." Faye turned her bike around so her back was towards them.
"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?"
❖❖❖
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.)