TEENAGE NIGHTMARE
CHAPTER FOURTEEN — PART ONE.
THE MORNING AFTER.

           The next morning at Murray's, Jonathan, Nancy, and JP sat in utter silence at the dining table. JP pretended to be wholly interested in the tablecloth covering the table, noting that it was an awful ugly mustard color, so that he could avoid Nancy's suspicious look. Murray had poured each of them a glass of orange juice and was scraping hot and fresh scrambled eggs off of the pan and onto four separate plates. When the plates were set in front of them, JP made sure to shovel a mouthful in quickly so that he'd hopefully be saved from any conversation. Both Nancy and Jonathan gave him an odd look, but Murray seemed amused, shifting his fork in between his fingers as he looked between the three. The awkwardness was absolutely killing JP, and he was impatiently waiting for one of them to declare their departure.

             Of course, that wouldn't happen without Murray saying something to throw them all off. He finished his analytical looks over each of them before settling on Jonathan, casually glancing down at his food before stabbing his fork into the eggs.

            " So, Jonathan, " He said as the boy took a long drink from his glass, " how was the pullout? "

              Jonathan nearly choked on the juice, and Nancy stopped scraping her fork around the plate, her lips pressed to a thin line while JP actually did choke on all the eggs shoved into his mouth. He managed to not die, quickly regaining his relatively calm demeanor as he forcefully swallowed.

             " I-I'm sorry? " Jonathan asked, dragging his eyes from JP to Nancy and finally to Murray as the glass in his hand shook just the slightest bit.

              " The sofa. " Murray insisted in a tone like that should've been obvious, tilting his head slightly to insinuate that he knew exactly what he had meant to do, though.

               " Oh, oh, yeah, it was good. " Jonathan replied, and JP leaned forward, pressing his hand to his face; as insane as Murray definitely seemed, JP wasn't sure if he could put it passed him to have cameras in every room. He obviously knew that Jonathan didn't stay in the study, and his implication was not something JP wanted to hear considering he knew that Murray knew they were all three in that bedroom.

             " I bet. " Murray said with a smirk on his face before he put a piece of egg into his mouth, purposefully making the situation impossibly more awkward as JP lowered his hand to cover his mouth, shooting the man a glare.

          
            After breakfast, the trio gathered the few things they had and Nancy made a call to her mother, coming up with some story that she spent the night at Ally's house— JP had never heard of an Ally, he wondered how gullible Mrs. Wheeler really was —and that she'd be home shortly. When Nancy hung up, she placed the phone down and looked over at Jonathan, who was pulling his coat on.

             " She said Mike spent the night at your house, they just had a sleepover. " She said, but JP could hear that she had an edge of doubt in her voice; JP cleared his throat quietly, making Jonathan glance over at him before he nodded at Nancy.

            " Oh, okay, " He halfheartedly dismissed, and Nancy gave him a sympathetic look.

            " Do you want to try again? " She offered, and Jonathan shook his head; when he had called, no one had answered, letting him go to voicemail three times. JP hadn't bothered to call since it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to show up to his house after being gone for the night.

           " No, it's fine, they're probably just at the matinee or something, " Again, JP could hear just how unconvinced Jonathan sounded; JP didn't know how they could act less than pessimistic, since that would be his initial reaction to the idea of an empty house.

           " I'm sure they're fine, Byers, " JP suddenly said, sounding a hell of a lot more confident than either of them had when trying to convince themselves that they weren't in trouble. Nancy looked surprised to see JP attempting to comfort Jonathan, in his own way. " the kid's badass, and your mom can handle herself, I think she's made that pretty fucking clear. "

           Jonathan chuckled quietly, " Yeah, I guess so. "

           JP nodded to him and Nancy smiled to herself, immediately drawing his attention as he frowned at her as if to ask 'What?'. Nancy shook her head lightly and followed Jonathan out the door, JP behind her as he rolled his eyes, Murray right on their toes as they stepped outside, the sunlight brightly beaming down on them.

          " For your travels, " Murray said, holding out a bottle of vodka out to them, which Jonathan took with a hesitant smile; he then held out a tall bottle of water, which Nancy took. " and, to water it down. "

          " Got it. " Nancy responded, looking up at Murray with a grateful expression, completely genuine as she said, " Thank you, for everything. "

          " Don't thank me yet, just. . keep your eyes on the papers. " He insisted, tilting his head towards them as he added, " And, if you need to reach me again. . Don't. "

           Then, he shut the door on them and locked it loudly, making the trio flinch. They waited there for a moment, but then they walked back to Jonathan's car, getting in in silence. They pulled off back onto the main road, heading back to the Byers' house, and JP felt strangely relieved while not at all at the same time.

           Thank God that was over.

            Fuck God, because it wasn't over.

             The trio pulled into the Byers' driveway, which was absent of Joyce's car, and they got out. JP noticed the distraught look on Jonathan's face as he rushed up the porch, entering the empty house. Nancy and JP followed closely behind him, eyes immediately wandering as they stepped inside.

           " What is all this? " Nancy asked in a low voice, and JP's head nearly spun all the way around as he tried to make sense of the papers that were everywhere; purple, blue, and black scribbles covered the walls as the papers were taped up on them, connecting in branches on the floor and winding throughout the whole house.

             " I don't know. " Jonathan answered, sounding scared of how true it was as he stopped in the middle of the living room to take in all in. He turned and jogged towards the hallway, fingers nearly ripping off one of the papers as he turned the corner, " Mom?! Will?! "

             While Jonathan went searching through the house for his mother and brother, JP peered into the trash bin, where a thick roll of bandages laid, soaked in some dark purple, almost black liquid. He then looked across the dining room, the table seeming to be the only surface void of the odd drawings. He walked over to it and found a small scrap piece of paper that was torn at one end, scribbled words written on it in purple crayon.

           CHANNEL 9 IF YOU NEED HELP.

                                                   FRANNY.

           JP clenched his jaw, now aware that something was actually wrong. Nancy said that Mike was over, and if Franny left a note for them, then Charlie must've been with them, too. How could that many people just disappear out of the blue?

         " You find something? " Nancy asked, still looking a bit shaken up after seeing the house in such an abandoned state. JP held the note up, letting Nancy take it from him to read it. Her eyes flashed up to him, but before either of them could say anything, Jonathan walked back into the room.

           He lifted a small gray square lens, tossing it onto the table before the other two, and he stated, " I don't shoot polaroid. "

            " What? " Nancy asked, and JP raised an eyebrow in confusion as well as he looked down at the piece of plastic.

             " It's not mine. " He clarified, and Nancy held up the note, looking to JP, whose eyes were narrowed as they all seemed to put the pieces together simultaneously.

            " Someone else was here. "

X X X

          The first thing Franny saw when she opened her eyes was a very familiar Breakfast Club poster that had been taped to her ceiling earlier that year. Even though it made her entire body ache, she parted her lips to allow a small chuckle to pass. Then, she let out a groan, sitting up and placing a hand to her head, which felt groggy and drowsy. She pulled her hand away from her temple to see that it had been bandaged again, and she mentally thanked Steve. She also noticed that she was wearing different clothes: a pair of sleep shorts and a Queen shirt that was far too large for her hung from her frame.

             Her mouth was dry, so her voice came out as a croak as she called, " Steve? Dustin? "

             Not getting a response, Franny slowly maneuvered her way to her feet, feeling briefly lightheaded before regaining her balance. She made a quick detour to her closet, exchanging the cotton shorts for a pair of jeans and tugging on the red converse that sat near her door. She thought about checking her reflection again, but she decided against it when realizing that she didn't want to see if she looked worse. She left her room and proceeded down the stairs to the conjoined kitchen and dining room, pulling her hair up into a ponytail as the house was silent. She vaguely remembered that Charlie and her father were with the Byers and Mike, but she couldn't help but feel like something bad had happened to Will. She wanted to go find him, but she knew that was just a dumb idea.

           JP still wasn't home, and she also felt a sickening feeling in her stomach when she thought about that. She hadn't seen him since the party and she wanted to apologize so badly for what she had said. Really, just seeing him would be enough to make her cry. She never thought she'd say it, but she missed having both her brothers with her.

           Franny walked outside, shielding her eyes from the blinding sunlight as she instantly heard Steve and Dustin bickering by the former's car. She approached them, giving them a halfhearted wave as both boys turned to look at her, a bit surprised.

           " Mornin', Sleeping Beauty. " Steve greeted her, leaning forward over the popped trunk of his car, his eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses that looked utterly ridiculous on him, but Franny decided not to tell him that. Still, no matter how weird he looked with the sunglasses, her heart still missed a beat at the new nickname.

             " Hi. " She said in a soft voice, body still reeling from last night's episode — even thinking of that word made her terrified of just how alike Will she had become in this situation — and she stood next to them, squinting her eyes to see a can of gasoline inside the trunk, along with three pairs of rubber gloves and three buckets that smelled like rotten flesh. " What's all of this? "

            " Plan B. " Dustin responded, gesturing towards the forest that laid on the outskirts of the neighborhood; Franny crossed her arms over her chest, trying not to display the full throbbing throughout her body as she looked to the curly haired boy.

            " Something tells me I'm not going to like Plan B. " Franny insisted, and both Steve and Dustin looked up at her.

             " You won't. "

              " Well, " She said, slightly taken back by their honesty, " I'll just have to keep my expectations low. "

               " I thought that was a given. " Dustin remarked, but quickly became distracted as Lucas' voice crackled over his headset; he turned away from Steve and Franny to tell Lucas what was happening.

              Franny could feel Steve's eyes on her so she directed her attention to the trunk, leaning forward and grabbing a pair of the gloves. She made a face of disgust as she saw the chunks of raw meat inside the buckets, feeling the sudden urge to vomit whatever happened to be left in her system. Eventually, avoiding Steve's concerned expression got too hard and she met his eyes, shielding her eyes from the sun in order to look at him. For a fall morning in Hawkins, it was oddly warm and sunny out.

           " Why are you looking at me like that, Steve Harrington? " Franny asked, and Steve seemed a little surprised that she could somehow recognize the expression from underneath his sunglasses; he tried to cover it up by flashing her a grin.

" Looking at you like what, Franny Walker? " He questioned, and Franny gave him a pointed look as his grin slowly faded as her face softened into realization of what exactly his face was displaying.

" Like you're afraid I'm going to fall over at any second. " She insisted, crossing her arms behind her to hide her hand as she looked to him, shaking her head lightly, " I'm not going to just collapse and die, Steve, you don't have to worry about me. "

Steve wanted to correct her that of course he had to worry about her, but he didn't. Instead, cocked an eyebrow at her and asked, " Okay, well, if you don't want me to worry, how 'bout you tell me what that was in the first place? "

Franny's eyes darted to Dustin, who was still preoccupied with his conversation with Lucas, then she locked eyes with Steve again, biting her lip anxiously before admitting, " I think. . the thing we're looking for, Dart, it infected my hand somehow on the football field. I didn't even think about it until yesterday when we were in the cellar, but. . . its-its blood, or something, it got into my blood and now. . I-I feel it, like Will does. "

Steve lowered his glasses from his face to show that he was intently listening to her, seeming to soak in the information, " Okay, what do you think happened last night then? "

" I don't know. . someone must've hurt it— "

" It? "

" The shadow monster. "

" Oh, the shadow monster, great. " Steve remarked, placing his sunglasses back on to his nose as Franny frowned at him. As Dustin turned back around, heading towards them, Steve glanced back to her, pausing to look over her face before reminding her, " Seriously, though, if you start feeling. . not right, let me know. "

" I already told you I'm not going to die, Steve Harrington. " Franny told him, rolling her eyes at his stubbornness as he shrugged lightly.

" Not on my watch, you're not, Franny Walker. "

She heard Dustin tell Lucas to meet them at the junkyard, then Lucas signed off as the curly haired boy approached them, sighing with a toothless grin on his face.

" Alright, Plan B is set in motion. " He announced, pulling on a pair of the gloves, motioning for Steve and Franny to copy him. He then grabbed one of the buckets of meat and looked between the two teenagers, a look on his face that implied he knew he missed something, but he didn't say anything to accompany it. " Let's get goin'. "

X X X

They had been walking along the railroad tracks that led through the woods for nearly an hour and a half, and Franny was unfortunately getting used to the smell of raw meat. The experience might've even convinced her to become a vegetarian, key word: might've. She'd also been overly vigilante about her hand, mistaking the slightest cold breeze as the beginning of another episode, but she tried her best to not think about it, even if she was failing quite miserably.

She tried to distract herself by staring at the back of Steve Harrington, who walked just a few feet ahead of her as he chatted with Dustin, but then her mind went somewhere else entirely that she didn't want to go either. Charlie's words about her still harboring her crush on Steve were starting to get to her, mainly because she hated to admit that he was right. But, she couldn't deny that she felt the so-called butterflies twist in her stomach when he turned around every five minutes and gave her a bright smile, asking if she was still okay. She would reply with " I'm not dead yet. " every time.

One of the only good things she could remember from the night before was that she had, indeed, held his hand. Whether it was out of fear or. . . no, it was definitely because she was scared that Dart was going to leap out of the darkness and eat her face off, but, the point still stood. Shortly after that and before she blacked out, Franny had decidedly come to the conclusion that that was the moment she accepted the fact that she was still very much so in something (as Charlie would put it) with Steve Harrington. And, after spending the chaotically stress-packed week with Steve, her crush had increasingly skyrocketed, leaving her to question whether or not he felt the same way about her. She was almost certain he didn't, mainly because she believed he was still in love with Nancy, at least partially, and, while she wanted to say that she understood that, she definitely didn't. She would only say 'almost certain' because she liked to believed that the cheesy grin he flashed at her every time he spoke to her was made just for her and only her.

" So, let me get this straight: you kept something you knew was probably dangerous all in order to impress a girl, " Steve paused, tossing a few chunks of meat out onto the tracks, " who you just met? "

" Alright, that's grossly oversimplifying things. " Dustin insisted, and Steve half glanced over his shoulder to catch Franny's attention, hesitating momentarily when he noticed that she had already been staring in his direction; the girl blinked a couple of times and looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

" Fran, " He finally said, " any input? "

" Mm, you're on the right track you just. . aren't executing your intentions well. " Franny answered, eyeing Dustin as she threw another piece of meat out, " Try something not so lethal next time. "

" Right, " Steve agreed, slowing his pace a few steps so that he was in tow with the brunette, his arm nudging hers as they swung lightly at his side; he searched her face for a moment before she met his eyes, and he turned back to Dustin quickly. " what girl likes some nasty slug anyways? "

" An interdimensional slug? Because it's awesome. " Dustin stated as he walked ahead of them, and Franny clicked her tongue.

" It'd be way cooler if it wasn't trying to kill us. " She pointed out, and Dustin glared back at her.

" Dart didn't try to kill us! " He defended, and Franny tilted her head back and forth, pursing her lips together.

" It ate your cat, Dustin. " She reminded him, but the boy just scoffed and turned back around, muttering as he dropped a few meat chunks.

" With Fran's point being very important, " Steve started, " even if she did think it was cool or she didn't, I just, uh, I don't know, I think you're trying way too hard, to be honest with you. "

" Well, not everyone can have your perfect hair, alright? " Dustin mentioned, and Franny snorted, earning an offended look from Steve. She smiled and lightly shook her head in an apology, to which he graciously accepted in silence.

" Girls don't like boys just because of their hair, Dustin. " Franny insisted, Steve pausing his advice to glance down at her briefly before he cleared his throat to agree.

" Yeah, it's not about the hair, man. The key to girls is just. . " Steve shrugged again, " acting like you don't care. "

Franny raised her eyebrows and made a surprised noise, drawing Steve to look over at her again with a questionable expression. Dustin seemed to think about that for a minute as he asked, " Even if you do? "

" Yeah, exactly, it drives 'em nuts. " Steve assured him, and Franny finally laughed loudly at that. Both boys turned to look at her, the younger one a bit more confused at her sudden amusement, the older faintly smiling at the rare sound of her laughter.

" That's exactly why you're every girl's dream man, Harrington? " She asked rhetorically, looking down at Dustin with a pointed expression. " He doesn't know what he's talking about. If you want a girl to keep caring about you, you have to show it in return. "

The irony hit her as soon as she finished her sentence, but she tried not to show it as Dustin looked genuinely conflicted on who to listen to. Franny took it upon herself to cure his dilemma, raising a palm in surrender as she said, " I tried to tell you, kid, but if you want to try it Casanova's way, have add it. "

" Okay, " Dustin said, looking over at Steve, " then what? "

" You just wait. " The tall boy answered plainly, turning to toss meat behind them before he spun back around, " 'Til, uh, 'til you feel it. "

" Feel what? " Dustin's inexperience with something as seemingly minuscule as relationships was a bit refreshing to Franny, who'd only ever heard the curly haired boy giving the information and correcting people, never once had she heard him ask for advice.

" It's like before it's gonna storm, you know? " Steve suggested, eyes flickering over at Franny, who kept an amused smile on her face as her eyes strayed down towards the tracks, then he trained his eyes ahead of him. " Like this, uh. . . electricity, you know? "

" Like in the electromagnetic field when the clouds in the atmosphere— " By Dustin's slow tone, Franny could tell that he knew what he was saying wasn't at all what Steve meant, but he didn't want to have to ask for clarification.

" No, nonono, like, uh, like a sexual electricity. " Steve corrected, and Franny's eyes shot up to look at him with a shocked expression as she suddenly shoved him, making him teeter on the edge of the track; he gave her a surprised look, a slightly humored grin on his face as he asked, " What, Walker? "

" Sexual electricity, Steve? He's a kid! " She whisper-shouted at him, as if Dustin couldn't hear her, which he clearly told them that he could; Steve waved his hand dismissively at her worry. Franny remembered what grabbing his hand had felt like: a spark of electricity.

" We're throwing raw meat on the railroad tracks in the middle of the woods to lead a monster to a junkyard. I think he's heard worse than the word sexual, Fran. " Steve assured her, turning back to Dustin, pointing to him, " You feel that, and then you make your move. "

Franny shook her head at that, but Dustin seemed to be accepting Steve's word as the gospel truth. He mumbled a quiet 'oh' before he asked, " So that's when you kiss her? "

" No—woah, woah, woah, slow down, Romeo. " Steve stopped him, waving his hand gesturally while Franny raised her eyebrows at him, waiting to hear how he explained that one, " Sure, okay, some girls, yeah, they want you to be aggressive, you know, strong, hot and heavy like a. . uh, like a lion. "

Listening to his flirting advice, Franny was questioning how Steve had ever had a girlfriend ever, but she realized that she didn't exactly have room to criticize him. It was apparently working on her, wasn't it? At least, some part of it had to have been.

" But others you gotta be slow, gotta be stealthy, like a ninja. " Steve declared, and Dustin nodded at that, then suddenly turned around to look at Franny while he walked backwards.

" Which one are you, Franny? " Dustin asked, and the girl looked slightly taken back, her walk stuttering briefly as she gave him a quizzical look. " Do you prefer lions or ninjas? "

She laughed in surprise, then replied, " I think there's a very big difference in the two. "

" That's because Fran's. . . different. " Steve said, glancing back to ensure that his words weren't misread as a sort of insult. Franny gave him a curious look, and he only added, " There's a very big difference between you and most girls. "

She wasn't really sure how to take that, but she didn't respond as Dustin then asked, " What type was Nancy? "

Steve, who was subconsciously expecting her to come up on the topic, was still startled by the mention of her name. He thought it over before he answered, " Nancy's different, too. "

" Like Franny? " Dustin questioned, and Franny lowered her gaze to the ground, raising an eyebrow slightly as she became very interested in the orange leaves that coated the dirt beneath her converse. She didn't want to seem like she was pressuring an answer out of Steve, so she did her best to pretend like she wasn't at all intrigued to hear his answer.

Steve didn't look back at her, he just also dropped his eyes, shaking his head slightly before a faint smile appeared on his face, " No, not like Franny, but still different. Different in a. . different way. "

" Yeah, " Dustin said after a beat of silence, " she seems pretty special, I guess. "

" Yeah, " Steve echoed, but his voice didn't seem nearly as confident as it had at the beginning of this talk, " yeah, she is. "

As if suddenly remembering that Franny was walking behind him, Dustin glanced back at her with a panicked look and insisted, " You're special, too, Franny. "

The girl chuckled quietly and said, " Thanks, Dustin. "

" But. . " Dustin started as he turned back around, " this girl's special, too, you know? It's just like, something about her. . "

" Woah, woah, woah, hey, hey, " Steve quickened his pace to be next to Dustin, giving him a serious look, eyes scanning over his face before he asked, " you're not fallin' in love with this girl, are you? "

Dustin hesitantly shook his head, " N-no, no. "

" Okay, good, " Steve said, even though he sounded unconvinced; Franny absentmindedly threw another piece of meat on the ground, watching as Steve whirled around, sighing, " don't. She's only gonna break your heart and you're way too young for that shit. "

Franny tilted her head towards the trees and softly agreed, " Amen. "

Her comment made both the boys look back at her, and she offered them both a half smile to convince them that she was still alive and kicking. Dustin turned back around with a thoughtful look on his face, but Steve was slowed to look away from her, a small frown etched into his skin as he realized that she must've meant him. Steve had never really thought about the fact that, while he was trying to mend his heart that Nancy shattered with a single word, Franny had admittedly liked him for years. He didn't think about the fact that, while she had been at his side when his relationship had first started to crumble, there had likely been no one there for her. His heart dropped to his stomach, and then he wondered if any of the stuff he had just told Dustin meant anything to her.

He knew that it meant something to him. He wasn't just saying a load of bullshit to appease Dustin, but he also wasn't saying a lot of what was on his mind because he wasn't sure if he wanted Franny to hear it all yet. He'd been painfully aware that their rekindled friendship had not lasted long before he felt something else, something that he hadn't felt that quickly in a long time. He didn't consciously recognize it until the night before, when she had grabbed his hand in the cellar. Even then, he wasn't sure if his adrenaline was just pumping to prepare for an attack or if he actually felt it. He was fully convinced when he watched her collapse in Dustin's driveway, though. For a moment, he had thought she was going to die, when she passed out and didn't seem to be breathing for a minute. He felt something ache throughout his entire body at the thought of her actually dying in his arms in that driveway. It made his head hurt to think about it, and it only twisted the knot in his stomach further.

All he knew now was that he was almost certain he was in something with Franny Walker.

X X X

note.

ugh I feel like I can't properly write Steve's perspective so enjoy this train wreck

and you can bet that I'll be coining the phrase 'in something' until they say the L word cause I enjoy being cheesy and unpoetic. also I'm a sucker for romantic interests that call each other by their first and last names.

as always, all comments, questions, predictions, and feedback are greatly appreciated!