Things after that night were... interesting. For one, Murray had no idea about anything that had conspired which was a lot. Maybe Nancy and Sloane sharing a bed after finally giving in to their yearning and stupid sexual tension was a bad idea, but Sloane had very few regrets. At breakfast that next morning, Sloane was sure to keep her neck covered up while they ate.

Murray placed three plates of eggs and hashbrowns in front of them and Sloane was grateful as the motel food had been absolutely horrible. She began shoveling food into her mouth, anxious to get back on the road and return to Hawkins. With all the drama, she had almost forgotten why they were there and what they were doing in the first place.

They ate in silence until Murray looked at the three of them, "So, Jonathan, how was the pullout?"

Without breaking his stride, Jonathan shrugged and answered, "It was comfortable, thank you." Meanwhile, his eyes flicked between the two girls as a small half-smile teased his expression.

Sloane bit her lip to hide back the grin that would surely give her away as she and Nancy traded sideways, teasing glances. Sure, the world was ending, but these moments felt separate from that. For just a few moments, she let herself be happy about something. Maybe something in her life could actually be good.

"I bet," was Murray's response and Sloane had to let out a small chuckle. If only he knew.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Sloane," Murray noted to which the girl nodded, "You're a bit testy when you get drunk, you know."

"I've been told I can be a bit of a psychopath," the girl mused, her eyes drifting to Nancy as she remembered the first time they had kissed. Oh, how her life had changed in such a short amount of time. Her and Nancy's relationship was much more different on that rooftop than it was right now. However, it was a good change.

After breakfast, they all took turns using the phone to call their parents. Nancy told her mother she had spent the night at Sloane's, whereas Sloane had claimed to be at the Wheeler's house.

Once Nancy got off the phone, she looked over at Jonathan, saying, "She said Mike's at your brother's house, they just had a sleepover so..."

"Oh, okay."

"Do you wanna try again?" Nancy offered the phone up to Jonathan. His mother must not have answered when he called.

Jonathan shook his head at this, "No. No, they're probably just at the matinee or something."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Nancy reassured before turning to Sloane, "You ready to go?"

As they stepped onto the stoop and into the cold, they turned to face Murray. With a smile, he held out a bottle of vodka and offered, "For your travels." Then, a bottle of water. "And to water it down."

Sloane grabbed the bottle of vodka right away while Nancy grabbed the water, "Don't have to tell me twice. It was fun meeting ya Murray."

Nancy laughed, a smile adorning her face, "Got it. And thank you, for everything."

The man gave them a mock salute, "Fighting the good fight. Now, don't thank me yet. Keep an eye on the papers, all right? And if you need to reach me again... don't."

He closed the door and they heard the lock click without another word. Sloane chuckled, "You know, I kind of love him."

"Well, you're relatively easy to impress, I mean..." Nancy spoke teasingly as they all walked to the car and Sloane gasped in mock offense.

"Wow, that hurts, you know," she spoke, but of course she didn't mean it. To prove it, she grabbed Nancy and wrapped her arms around her waist, planting a gentle kiss to her cheek causing the other girl to giggle. Jonathan rolled his eyes at their actions, but there was a small smile on his face. Sloane could have easily teased him over it, but she held back. She was going to at least attempt to be a little bit nicer to him. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. However, she would never say that to his face.

On the drive back to Hawkins, the closer they got to home the more anxious Sloane was. Something about the impending doom had a tendency to bring her down. However, she was in it now and she wasn't going anywhere.

"Do you want us to drop you off at home?" Jonathan asked once they passed the sign welcoming to Hawkins.

With no hesitation, she shook her head, "No, I'm in this with you guys now. I wanna help you guys get to the bottom of this. No going back, right?"

"If this is going to be anything like last year, this could get a whole lot more dangerous, Sloane," Nancy warned, but the girl didn't care.

"I know. I trust you guys."

"Car-" the name slipped from Nancy's lips, but she stopped when she saw how Sloane froze. Whatever she was going to say was put on pause as she reached out to the backseat to grab the girl's hand gently, their fingers lacing together for just a moment before she let go and continued her statement. "Sloane, I just need you to be aware. We have no idea what we're walking into."

"Well, we already drove past her house," Jonathan intruded, "So, not really any going back now. We're almost to mine. There has to be a bigger reason no one was answering the phone. I have a bad feeling, Nance."

Nancy's attention immediately turned to the boy driving, "I'm sure everything will be fine. Will was perfectly fine before we left."

"A lot can change, we were gone for like two days," Jonathan's voice was shaky and Sloane noticed his hands quivering as he turned into the driveway of what she assumed was his home. There were no other cars in the driveway, which clearly made Jonathan more nervous.

In a rare gesture or caring, Sloane reached from the backseat to give Jonathan's shoulder a gentle squeeze, saying, "I'm sure everything will be okay, Jonathan. Your mom probably went out to get groceries or something."

However, as they stepped out of the car, a chill went down Sloane's spine. Nothing good could have happened here; she didn't know how she could know, but she did. She could practically smell the desolation in the air. Sloane knew better than to say anything, though, as it was obvious Jonathan was already far too nervous. The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel worse, but he had to know something was going on, too.

As they pushed the door open, those thoughts were only confirmed as they eyed their surroundings. Every inch of the walls adorned a scratchy, messy drawing. Upon further inspection, they all seemed to connect perfectly. It was haunting, the emptiness the drawings embodied.

"What is all this?" Nancy questioned as the three of them looked around at all of the drawings.

Jonathan only voiced what they were all thinking, "I don't know."

THIS CHAPTER IS SO SHORT BUT ANYWAY HAPPY VALENTINES DAY HERE'S AN UPDATE THAT FEATURES SLOANE AND NANCY BEING CUTE