the monster: ❛ CARDIGAN ❜
↷ stranger things
❝ I figured that you wouldn't want to be alone ❞

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Clary did not remember the last time that she walked into the Wheeler house. She refused to go inside even when she was picking Will up after he and Mike were done hanging out. That house used to be a comforting place for her. Karen was amazing and treated both her and Will like they were her own and she and Nancy were inseparable back then.

While Will and Mike hung out in the basement, Nancy and Clary were in Nancy's room painting each other's nails and watching movies.

Stepping back into that house brought back a lot of memories. They decided that Clary was going to sleep over so that Nancy would feel safer. After what the poor girl went through, Clary did not even feel annoyed about the fact that she had to spend a night with her.

She headed to the bathroom to change into Nancy's pair of spare pajamas and then headed into Nancy's bedroom to see that Jonathan wrapped a comforting arm around the shoulders of the Wheeler girl.

Jonathan perked up at the sight of his older sister and then cleared his throat before getting to his feet. Clary narrowed her eyes at him, then looked down at Nancy and softly said, "The bathroom is free."

Nancy weakly nodded and got up. While walking past her and towards the bathroom, she muttered, "Thanks."

Once she was out of the room, Jonathan spoke up, "Are you sure you're fine with staying here?"

"Totally." Clary nodded and crossed her arms over her chest while her eyes scanned the bedroom. It has changed a lot since the previous year. The wallpaper was different, the mirror no longer had pictures of Nancy and Clary on it and neither did the nightstand. It was like their friendship never existed. "I'll call you in the morning."

"Sounds good." Jonathan nodded and took a step back in the direction of the bedroom door. "Stay safe and don't go anywhere tomorrow without telling me."

Clary rolled her eyes and nodded, "I know. Bye."

"Bye."

Jonathan was originally going to stay too but one of them had to go home and take care of their mom. There was no way that they would leave her alone overnight. Especially if Lonnie was still in Hawkins. A part of Clary thought he left the second the funeral was over, though. That piece of shit never knew how to stick around.

-

Clary found a couple of blankets and a pillow sitting next to the windows so she picked them up and made herself a small bed on the floor next to Nancy's bed. Just as she was done with it, the doors opened and Nancy walked in. Her hair was wet, falling over her face, and her face was paler than usual. She was clearly still in shock.

"Is this okay?" Clary asked while standing up and pointing to the blankets on the floor. "I found them by the window."

Nancy nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, glued to her spot and not feeling comfortable in her own bedroom. Hell, she didn't even feel comfortable in her own skin.

Clary's eyebrows furrowed. "You are still fine with me staying here, right? I didn't suggest it because I wanted us to have a sleepover. I just . . . I figured that you wouldn't want to be alone."

"I don't." Nancy confirmed. "Do you?"

"No." She sighed and that was all that Nancy needed to hear before she made her way towards her bed. Clary watched her lay down and then lowered herself to the floor where she covered herself with two blankets.

She layed on her stomach and rested her cheek on the pillow so she had a perfect view of the gun that she set next to the pillow. The floor was uncomfortable but sleeping there was not going to be the hardest thing that she had to do that week.

Clary's eyes were glued on the gun and she quickly realized that there was no way that she was sleeping that night. The room settled into tense silence which was soon broken by Nancy sighing and speaking up, "Can you just come up here?"

The Byers girl sat up and hesitantly peaked up at her from the bottom of the bed. She pursed her lips awkwardly and then got up to lay next to her on the bed that was big enough for both of them to lay there without touching.

"Do you want me to turn the lights off?"

"No."

Clary sighed and nodded, "I'm fine with that." She stared at the side of Nancy's face and added, "That thing can't get you here."

Nancy shook her head slowly. "We don't know that."

"Well, I don't know if this makes you feel better but I still have a gun." Clary stated, her words slightly above a whisper. "And I'm not sure how much I'm going to sleep tonight. As long as you trust me... I think that you will be fine."

Nancy was not fine. She looked like a trembling deer as she clung to the sheets around her like they were her lifeline. She just lost her best friend and had a near death experience. But then again, Clary was not fine either. Her family was falling apart. Will used to be the glue that held everyone together so the fact that he was gone made Clary wonder what was going to happen next. Was Joyce going to lose her mind completely? Was Jonathan going to close himself off even more? Was she going to have to take care of everyone just like when dad left?

-

There was something about Nancy's bedroom that gave Clary a sense of comfort. She knew that it was not the pink wallpaper nor how bright it was. It was such a huge contrast to her own bedroom that it made her feel relaxed. That was probably the reason why she actually slept for a couple of hours.

When she woke up, she immediately notice that the brunette was not laying next to her. She looked around the room to see her sitting at the end of the bed, writing something down. Nancy must have heard her moving around because she immediately looked over her shoulder and made eye contact with her.

"Hi."

"Hey." Clary muttered and sat back, brushing her messy hair away from her eyes. She narrowed her eyes at her but instead of them being filled with annoyance, she looked concerned. "Did you sleep at all?"

"Every time I close my eyes, I just... keep seeing that thing." Nancy frowned. "Wherever I was ── that place ── I think that it lives there. It was feeding there. Feeding on that deer. That means that if..." She let out a shaky breath. "if Will and Barbara──"

"Don't think like that." Clary cut her off and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We don't know what happened to either of them. Have some hope. My mom said thar she talked to Will so he can't be dead. If he's alive, there's a chance Barb is, too. That means that she is just trapped. And we need to find a way how to get them out of there.

"We have to find it again."

Clary gave her a shocked look. "You want to go back out there?"

After how traumatized Nancy was after what happened the previous night, Clary did not expect her to suggest going back. She was on board but she didn't think that Nancy was. Not completely at least.

"Maybe we don't have to." Nancy said. When she saw her confused look, she explained, "When I saw it, it was feeding on that deer. Meaning it's a predator, right?"

Clary furrowed her eyebrows, "Yes?"

"And it seems to hunt at night, like a lion or a coyote. But it doesn't hunt in packs like them. It's always alone, like...like a bear. And remember at Steve's, when Barb cut herself? And then, last night, the deer..."

"It was bleeding, too." Clary finished for her, realization flashing across her face. "What if blood draws it to its victims?"

"One sec." Nancy muttered and started flipping through the book in front of them. "Sharks can detect blood in one part per million. That's one drop of blood in a million, and they can smell it from a quarter mile away."

"It's a good theory." Clary hummed. "We can test it." Her eyes widened briefly and she sighed in frustration. "But if it works then it will come to us."

"At least we'll know it's coming."

"Fair enough." She huffed at Nancy's words, her shoulders falling in defeat. She eyed the books in front of them and gave Nancy a look. "Is that what you were doing all night?"

Nancy sheepishly smiled, "Yeah. I couldn't sleep so I wanted to do something useful."

"You really are the smartest one out of the three of us." Clary admitted and chuckled to herself, before getting up and taking her clothes so she could get dressed. She missed the way Nancy's cheeks flushed while her back was turned to her.

-

Clary, Nancy and Jonathan got the army supplies that they needed after the two girls sneaked out and called Jonathan. They bought so much stuff that it would be suspicious if anyone other than Stupid Sam was working there. Nancy just told him that they were going "monster hunting" with a blank expression on her face and he thought that she was being sarcastic.

The trio chuckled at her words as they left the shop and started putting the things into the trunk of the Byers' car.

"You know, last week I was shopping for a new top I thought Steve might like. It took me and Barb all weekend. It seemed like life or death, you know?" Nancy grimaced at her own words.

Clary sighed and gave her an understanding look. "I know."

"And now-"

"You're shopping for bear traps with your boyfriend's ex-girlfriend and her brother?" Clary cut her off an raised a knowing eyebrow.

Nancy winced. "Yeah."

"What's the weirdest part? Us or the bear trap?" Jonathan asked her with a small smile.

"You. It's definitely you."

Clary let put a breathy laugh and shrugged. "Fair enough."

A car honking made them look away from each other and towards an unfamiliar red car.

"Hey, Nance!" A boy from Clary's class, Reed, called out from the passenger seat. "Can't wait to see your movie."

His laughing made Clary scowl. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know." Nancy told her. She looked as confused as the Byers siblings. A moment later, she turned away from them and started walking towards the movie theater while they watched her in confusion.

Jonathan called after her, "Where are you going?"

She started running towards the theater so they ran after her while calling her name but she did not respond nor did she slow down.

When they got in front of the building, Clary's eyes widened in shock.

𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗟𝗨𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗥

The writing was written on the big sign above the doors in red spray pain. Nancy looked like she was about to throw up and Clary was pissed. What made her anger worse was the sound of Steve Harrington's annoying laughter coming from the alley next to the theater.

Clary did not even hesitate to follow Nancy in the direction of his voice. He stood next to Tommy, Nicole and Carol next to his stupid expensive car.

"Aw, look." Carol taunted them, being the first to see them. "It's the princess and the slut. Are you two, like, in-laws now?"

"Uh-oh! They looks upset." Her boyfriend wore a fake pout but both of them were too busy glaring at Steve to even care.

A loud smack echoed through the alley as Nancy smacked Steve across the face. Clary's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She was impressed.

Nancy stared at him, her eyes already red. "What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?" Steve shot back. "I was worried about you. I can't believe that I was actually worried about you."

He scoffed in disgust which only made his girlfriend more confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I wouldn't lie if I were you." Carol chimed in, "You don't want to be known as the lying slut now, do you?"

Clary glared at her and snapped, "This isn't about you, Carol."

"Speak of the devil." Tommy whistled when Jonathan walked up to them. "Hi."

"You came by last night?" Nancy asked, realization hitting her after Tommy's snarky comment.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! Does she get a prize?" Carol laughed while Tommy wrapped his arms around her in an almost protective manner. He eyed Clary with narrowed eyes.

"Look, I don't know what you think you saw, but it wasn't like that." Nancy tried to convince him.

Steve looked unimpressed. "What, you just let him into your room to study?"

"Or for another pervy photo session?"

"I was literally in the other room, asshole." Clary deadpanned.

"Convinient." Steve hummed and gave her a confused look. "Why are you even defending her? She made out with your boyfriend. I should have known she wouldn't stay loyal."

"We were just-"

"You were just what?" Steve stepped closer in an almost threatening manner. The look on his face made Clary feel disgusted beyond relief. First cheating, then slut shaming and now he looked like he was actually going to get physical. "Finish that sentence. Finish the sentence." Tense silence filled the air before he muttered, "Go to hell, Nancy."

"Come on, Nancy, let's just leave." Jonathan told her when he started walking away but that actually only triggered the Harringon.

"You know what, Byers? I'm actually kind of impressed." He let out a humorless chuckle. "I always took you for a queer, but I guess you're just a little screw-up like your father. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that house is full of screw-ups. You know, I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. A bunch of screw-ups in your family."

Clary stopped dead in her tracks. Jonathan looked pissed but the look on his sister's face actually made Nancy panic.

"Guys, leave it."

"I mean, your mom." Steve continued. "I'm not even surprised what happened to your bro──"

Just like that, Clary tore her hand from Nancy's hold and hit him across the face. It was not a slap, like the one Nancy gave him. It was a punch. And she kept hitting him over and over again until she was sure that his nose was as broken as his ego. She lifted her knee to hit him right in the balls and then pushed him away so he would fall on his ass.

If he wanted to fight her he would have. If his friend had the balls to stop her, they would have. And if Nancy or Jonathan didn't want her to beat Steve into a bloody pulp, they would have stopped her too.

"By the way, Carol." Clary stopped in her tracks when she was about to walk away. "You should really talk to your boyfriend about how open your relationship is. You never know what kind of STD you can get from the town slut."

She grabbed Nancy by her forearm and pushed Jonathan a little so he could start moving and they jogged back to their car. The last thing they needed was for Hopper to drag her to jail.