CHAPTER 6
THE MONSTER

WARNING;
DEROGATORY LANGUAGE

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   Trepidation. That's the only way Laurel could describe what she was feeling. It was a strange word, since more common ones like fright or terror should've come first. But somehow the complex word she learned that week in English class came into her mind as she stood alone in the dark woods, knowing that Nancy was in danger and she could probably do nothing about it.

Trepidation; a feeling of fear or agitation about something that may happen. In times of crisis her mind explored the most random parts of her brain, which explained why she couldn't stop thinking about this word.

She was afraid. And as if Nanch knew that, she spoke to her.

"Laurel!" Nancy's voice echoed through her ears, as if it was a distant whisper.

Laurel called out for her friend many more times, hearing the same response back, they were coming from all different directions.

It was as if she was here, and not here, at the same time.

"Laurel where are you?"

This couldn't have been her imagination.

Sprinting into the direction of the voice, she called out Nancy's name again. It was like a children's game of hide and seek, but a little more dark than usual.

"Laurel, I'm right here! I'm right here!" Nancy's scream was so close by the hairs on the back of Laurel's neck stood on end. She had to be nearby.

"I'm right here Nancy, I'm here! Just follow my voice!" Laurel shouted in between breaths, using her inhaler for what felt like the 100th time that night. "Follow my voice I'm right here!"

Suddenly she stopped calling, and a scream emitted from the echoes. Laurel turned, glancing at the one tree it had came from.

"Nancy!" She shouted again, her voice going hoarse, as she ran to the tree, fell on her knees and inspected the area. her eyes warily trailed down the trunk to see it strangely moving, but slightly open. It was otherworldly.

"Nancy..." she called out again, a little more quiet this time, her hand cautiously trailing along the infected looking trunk. It felt bumpy and wet, which made her incredibly uncomfortable. As her light shined on the middle she could see that it was a hole covered in goopy webs.

Whimpering slightly, she mustered up the courage to speak again. "Nancy?"

No answer.

"Nancy?"

A hand shot out of the tree, a shriek escaping Laurel as she fell backwards, her heart beating out of her chest in fright. It was Nancy's hand. Shaking away the fear, she grabbed on, and pulled as hard as she physically could. Laurel was nowhere near a strong girl, but Nancy in danger pumped adrenaline through her veins, making her push harder than she had ever before.

Finally Nancy was pulled through, and as soon as she was totally free she was quick to pull her close, Nancy falling onto Laurel's body. Nancy's sobs wracked through her body, and Laurel could feel it. Both girls sat up, holding each other as if it was their last moments together. Even if she was covered in a strange, wet substance, Laurel didn't care.

She was alive, safe, and in her arms.

"I got you Nance, I got you..." she whispered, clutching onto the girl's jacket for dear life, feeling Nancy's arms wrap around her neck like a hungry boa.

Facing the tree, she noticed how even in the dark, the hole was closing in. What the hell happened to Nancy?

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It must have been past midnight, Laurel was sure of it. She didn't even bother checking a clock, because sleep was what they needed anyway.

Especially Nancy.

Laurel's fingers tapped lightly on the pillow on her lap, counting the seconds and minutes going by till Nancy finished her shower. There wasn't much else to do, Laurel spent the first 5 minutes gawking at the fact that she was finally in Nancy Wheeler's room.

For all the wrong reasons though.

Laurel had peeked in her closet to find a spare blanket rolled up on the top shelf, so she took it down and unrolled it in front of Nancy's bed.

The bathroom door creaked open, making Laurel jump slightly; she'd probably be jumpy for the next few days, she thought. Turning around, she shut the door, hands wrapped around herself. Laurel had never seen this side of Nancy before, only the version at school where she dressed nicely and spoke with a smile.

Now her wet hair clung to her blue pyjamas, a frightened look still on her face. Laurel could barely imagine what she had gone through. They hadn't spoke much since they walked back to Nancy's house, besides the odd explanation.

"You feeling better?" Laurel asked softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. All anger she had towards her earlier had passed now.

"Yeah," she whispered back, eyes drifting towards the floor. Laurel didn't believe her much, but an answer was a start. She then realized Nancy was eyeing the blanket and pillow on the floor.

"Oh...is this okay? I just thought that...after tonight...I could go home-"

"Yeah no, um...I don't wanna be alone."

Laurel gulped down her jitters at the thought of Nancy Wheeler wanting to be with Laurel Byers instead of being alone; it wasn't the first thing on her mind.

"Do you?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, no..." Laurel stammered, shaking her head.

Nancy nodded, heading towards her bed and slipping under the covers. Laurel did the same, laying on the carpet with the quilted blanket and spare pillow.

"Y-you sure you don't want to borrow a pair of my pyjamas?" She called from the bed.

Laurel shook her head, even if she was out of sight. "No, I'm okay, thanks." In reality, she'd love to be wearing Nancy's pjs, but she didn't feel it was right to agree to.

There were a few minutes of silence and attempt of sleep, which was very unsuccessful, until Nancy spoke up.

"Could you just come up here?" Nancy asked, Laurel's cheeks flushing bright red. Gulping down her anxiousness, she stood up, practically tripping towards the bed as she crawled on top. She wasn't sure how Nancy wanted her to sleep, so she stayed over the covers.

"Y-you don't wanna use that blanket?"

Laurel mentally face palmed herself. "Oh, right..."

Laurel took the blanket from the floor and brought it back to Nancy's bed.

Laurel then noticed the lamps on the bedside tables being lit up. "Do you want the lights off or-"

"On," she answered without hesitation, Laurel nodding in agreement. In all honesty, Laurel didn't want the lights off either, she was still pretty shaken up from that night.

The rest of the night was spent with many wake ups and nightmares.

_____

Nancy and Laurel had come to the conclusion that this thing was a predator. Like a bear, or a shark, they hunt alone, following the scent of blood; that's how it presumably found Barb and the deer.

The one positive thing that came from this was the fact that Nancy had proof of this other world. Barb could still be there, but especially Will. Something about his so-called death didn't sit right with Laurel, but this made perfect sense.

Only in a backwards world would Laurel believe myth over reality, but this world was more upside down than she had ever imagined.

They had a plan, a very rough one, to try and lure the monster with their blood. After sneaking out the window, Laurel was surprised to see Jonathan's car pulling up to Nancy's home.

"Laurel, thank God you're okay," Jonathan said while getting out of the car, probably confused out of his mind. "Where the hell have you been?"

"We'll explain in the car."

Throughout the entire car ride to the surplus store, Laurel had explained her disappearance at the funeral. Luckily Jonathan didn't notice Laurel was gone till this morning since he worked all day yesterday then fell asleep right after. He had agreed to help with their crazy plan, so here they were, shopping for supplies to catch a monster. From bear traps to weapons, they bought it all.

When the store clerk asked what they were doing with all this stuff, Nancy surprisingly said 'monster hunting'. Silly teenagers, he probably thought, as he scoffed at the answer.

"Monster hunting, seriously?" Jonathan asked Nancy, carrying the boxes to his car.

"Technically it's what we're doing," Laurel shot back, shrugging. As Laurel leaned on the car, Nancy stood beside her in thought.

"You know, just last week I was shopping for a new top I thought Steve might like," Nancy began, making Laurel's stomach twist just from his name. "It took Barb and I all weekend, it seemed like life or death, y'know. And now..."

"You're shopping for bear traps to kill a monster straight out of my brother's comics with the Byers twins," Laurel continued, making Nancy chuckle. Laurel's lips curved into a smile, admiring the way her cheeks puffed up when she smiled too hard.

Their moment was interrupted by a car horn behind them, Jonathan shutting the trunk door. "Hey Nance, can't wait to see your movie!" A stranger yelled from their car, making Laurel frown in confusion. That sentence made no sense whatsoever, but what made sense these days?

Nancy seemed more concerned.

"What the hell was that?" Jonathan asked, voicing his twin's thoughts.

"I don't know..." Nancy wondered, but she seemed to be piecing something together. Laurel could see the gears in her head turning as she began walking away from the car to some unknown destination.

"Nancy, where are you going?" Laurel called out, following Nancy as she began running down the street. "Stay here Jonathan," Laurel said, but she knew he probably wouldn't obey her.

It only took a few blocks for Laurel to understand what was going on. She was running towards the movie theatre. Beside where it said what new movie was playing, spray painted in dark red were the words NANCY THE SLUT STARTING WHEELER.

This was Steve Harrington's work.

Both girls stood in the street in horror, Nancy probably worse off than Laurel. But Laurel still felt that déjà vu from a few days ago, when she was confronted in the parking lot. Knots in her stomach, blood pumping in her ears, she couldn't tell if she was anxious or angry. Both, definitely both.

"Nance, I..." Laurel could barely think of what to say, before Nancy was off in a other direction. Laurel followed as always. Nancy had strut down an alleyway, and when Laurel looked down it she noticed who she wanted to confront. Steve and his friends were vandalizing even more, making Laurel feel the anger she did the day before.

This time directed at Steve.

Nancy was already down there, and she noticed a sudden slap she gave towards Steve. Laurel could tell she was as angry as her, maybe even more.

As Laurel mustered up the courage to confront them with Nancy, since now she wasn't alone in this, she walked towards the group.

"You don't wanna be known as the lying slut now, do you?" The snarky red-head from the parking lot said to Nancy in a patronizing tone.

"Speak of the devil," the boy she now knew was Tommy said, smirking maniacally at Laurel. She felt intimidated by this, but this time she was ready. She wouldn't let those tears fall today.

Nancy glanced towards Laurel but turned back to Steve. "You came by last night."

"Ding ding ding! Does she get a prize?" The red-head said.

"Look, I don't know what you think you saw, but it wasn't like that." Even if Laurel agreed, it hurt slightly to hear Nancy talk about them just being friends.

"What, you just let her into your room to...study?" Steve asked.

"Or for another pervy photo session," Tommy added on, making Laurel's head cower to the ground slightly.

"We were just-"

"You were just what?"

That was the problem, they couldn't tell Steve the truth. He wouldn't believe them for one second.

"Finish the sentence," Steve persisted. But Nancy couldn't. "Go to hell Nancy."

There were a few footsteps heard behind them. "C'mon Nancy, Laurel, let's just go."

"Oh look, it's the other Byers. You know, I thought it was just Laurel who was the weirdo in the family, but you're just a screw-up like your father," Steve said as they began walking away, pushing on Jonathan's shoulders. Both Byers' blood was boiling.

"Yeah, that house is all full of screw-ups. You know, I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. Your mom, I'm not even surprised at your brother." Steve was pushing his anger onto Jonathan when in reality this was Laurel's fault, but it still made Laurel's heart beat fast and faster, knuckles clenching, fingernails digging into her palms, the same cuts as yesterday.

As Steve continued rambling on, trying to get to Jonathan, but also Laurel, the one thing that set Laurel off the edge was the people behind Steve, persisting the fight, when the one red-head beside Steve spoke 5 words that made Laurel's head explode.

"What a bunch of f*gs."

Before she could even think, Laurel spun around, throwing her fist at whatever was closest to her. She thought at first it was the red-headed girl who had just called her that disgusting word, but it was Steve. He fell backwards, the punch throwing both the victim and the puncher off. Laurel blinked, time slowing down as he stepped forward, about to do whatever he wanted to Laurel, before Jonathan stepped in. By the time Laurel's head got out from underwater she could see Steve and Jonathan brawling it out on the ground.

Nancy yelled at Steve to stop, whereas Laurel was trying to calm Jonathan down. Her anger seemed to subside from the punch, glancing down at her bruised knuckles, knowing that punching the red-head wouldn't result in anything good.

Because not too much time had passed before sirens were being heard, Laurel covering her ears to try and drown out the sounds of punches and police cars.

That was the only time she let her tears fall that day.

By this time, Jonathan was on top, where Steve looked like the victim, being punched multiple times. The police men ran out of the vehicle, as Steve's friends ran off, knowing they didn't wanna get caught up with this.

"Jonathan stop it!" Laurel yelled one last time. She could see him halt his movements for a moment and glance towards his twin, but by that point the police had grabbed him and started pulling them apart. Laurel face palmed herself, shielding her eyes when he had even elbowed a man in the face. Steve had actually been able to run off, a man chasing after him whereas the other was handcuffing Jonathan.

This day was a nightmare of trepidation.

_____

The two twins didn't know what to say to each other. And neither did Laurel or Nancy. No one knew how this was going to play out.

As soon as they got to the station Jonathan was sitting at a desk, but Laurel was able to grab an ice bag. Smiling weakly at her brother, she sat beside him, placing it on his temple, the place he was punched in.

"Your hand probably needs this more than I do," he said, glancing at her bruised knuckles. They had gotten darker since the fight, even hurt when she clenched her hand.

"Shut up, and let me take care of you for once." Jonathan smiled at her response, she needed to do this. It was always Jonathan saving her, even today he did. But now was Laurel's turn.

Having a twin was a 2 person job, both people having to contribute in the relationship, because they were made that way.

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awwww twin bonding!! also i don't like to use derogatory words like that in my fics whatsoever, but since this is set in the 80s there was still a lot of homophobia, and that was more normal than today. i wanted to represent homophobia in this book slightly since its the main reason why laurel isnt out to anyone besides her family !!

update, i added a censor to the word just in case anybody is uncomfortable with the word