Chapter Text
Robin turns on her walkie, “Steve, do you copy?”
Nancy's eyes are focused on the road, they're headed back to where Murray's truck crashed. “Yes I copy. Where the hell have you been? Murray and I took the kids through the tunnels, we just got outside of Hawkins.”
Nancy flinches as she feels Robin jumping in her seat, “What!? You took them out on your own?”
“Look, we didn’t have a choice. Murray is with them. I have to head back. The others are at Hopper's cabin going over the plan.”
Robin groans, “Jeez. Alright, we're headed there.” she motions to Nancy to turn around, “Over.”
“Over.” The static fills the car, Robin turns off the walkie.
The ride is quiet and awkward, Nancy feels like she's suffocating, the air is now toxic and it's choking her. She kissed Robin. And yes she was drunk, still is. But she did it willingly and she liked it.
***
They get to Hopper's cabin. Jonathan is there, everyone is there. Steve is there to greet them, “Finally. We've been waiting for you. We have an emergency! El is on her way to the Squawk to try and find Vecna. Dustin and Jonathan have been working over how we can manage to find out what's behind the wall. We have to go back to the Upside Down–”
Steve's words fade away as she makes eye contact with Jonathan, he looks so happy to see her yet she can see the hurt he's hiding because she knows him so well. She almost feels as if the ground just opened beneath her and she fell in a never-ending black hole. Her heart drops to her feet and it hurts so bad she wants to tear her lungs out of her ribcage. She cheated on him. She made Robin cheat on her unknown girlfriend. She is a monster.
“Nancy?”
“Nancy are you listening to me?” Steve is losing his patience, “Great. You two lovebirds decided to have an argument right now. Just get it over with so we can actually try to survive fighting an interdimensional monster who's trying to end the fucking world!”
Monster.
Nancy realises that not only would the whole town paint her chest with a scarlet letter ‘A’ for this but they would also send her to get exorcised before being burnt at the stake. Her Dad would send her to conversion therapy first, and it would mean that Mike and Will would need to hide. It wouldn't only affect her but it would ruin her brother's life.
She already imagines the headlines: ‘The Satanic town of Hawkins: where white picket fence Wheeler family's children were turned gay after joining Hellfire cult. See end page for tips on how to avoid the same thing happening to your children.’
“Jonathan, we need to talk.” She says absentmindedly not listening to Steve screaming two inches away from her face. She takes Jonathan by the hand and leads him outside. Ignoring Robin's heavy gaze she can feel pinned on her back.
“Are you okay?” He asks, fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt.
“No. I'm sorry. I should've never said no to you like that–”
“Nancy, it's okay–” He says but it really isn't.
“No. It's not! I want to marry you. I have to, you're… everything.” Nancy tries to smile best she can, fighting the tears that always threaten to fall.
Jonathan gains color back into his face, “Oh, I'm so relieved. Oh Nancy, you know I love you, right? No matter how bad my proposal was I would've given you months if we had them.”
If.
If we had them.
But they don’t. She could die tonight. She might. Words get stuck in her throat. She can’t speak. Is she really willing to spend what could be the last few hours of her life hiding with someone she no longer loves – if she ever truly loved him?
She brings her hand to cup Jonathan's face and brings him in closer as much as her body tells her not too. “Yes, I know. I love you too.” she says, trying to convince herself that what happened meant nothing. But a voice she has heard say her name in the most unholy way which sparked the most insane reaction in her whole body and soul says it again, “Nancy.” Robin says.
Nancy doesn't look away from Jonathan's eyes, her eyes start to burn from not blinking.
Robin steps down the porch.
“Nancy, please don't.” She says.
Nancy blinks, closes her eyes as she kisses Jonathan. His lips are dry but soft. She feels nothing but sadness.
She parts from him, reopens her eyes to look at Robin, she stands there with shaking hands, “You know Jonathan, before she becomes Mrs Byers you have to know–”
“ROBIN!” Nancy's voice breaks. She starts crying, “Robin don't. Please don't I'm begging you please–”
“What?” Jonathan chimes in, utterly confused.
“Nancy she– she doesn't oh! I shouldn’t be doing this right!? I'm the only dyke around is what they all think? What Nancy thinks. But I'm not. Not the only one I mean–”
“ROBIN STOP!” Nancy sobs as she holds Jonathan's hand so tightly she is digging her fingernails in his skin.
“I mean, you'll be marrying Hawkins' second best dyke.” Robin is mad as fury, her fists are clenched and she is laughing that humourless hurt and angry laugh.
Jonathan chuckles nervously, “What!? You're–” he points at Robin then turns to Nancy, “What is she saying?”
Nancy wants to say something, she should be saying anything. Denying the whole thing.
Robin is crazy she kissed me earlier after getting me drunk in a parking lot as if we weren't trying to fight off Satan's new coming.
Robin has rabies. A demogorgon bit her, she's infected by the Vecna Woke Virus.
Robin saw Will and Mike kissing and she's got a rare condition called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder so now she thinks everyone is gay.
But no excuse sounds good, so she stands there holding Jonathan as her cries turn into squeals of terror. Her sobbing getting louder, her vision getting blurry.
“I'm sorry I–” Her voice breaks. Jonathan drops her hand so violently that it hurts physically.
She runs for him and catches his hand but he steps back, “Do not touch me!” he says before running into the woods.
Nancy doesn't follow him.