Chapter Text
Gwen lay on Nancy’s bed, arms folded behind her head, eyes fixed on the ceiling. The floral-patterned wallpaper of Nancy Wheeler’s room wasn’t much to look at, but tonight, it wasn’t about the decor. Nancy had invited her over, saying she had something important to share. Barb was supposed to be here too, but she couldn’t make it, so now Gwen was stuck in a half-assed stakeout, waiting for whatever earth-shattering revelation Nancy had up her sleeve.
Nancy sat up, dialing Barb’s number on the landline. It rang a couple of times before Barb picked up.
“Hey, Barb.”
“Hey.”
“Hey, me too,” Gwen chimed in from beside Nancy, unable to resist.
Nancy let out a laugh, shaking her head. Barb chuckled on the other end. “Hey, Gwen.”
Gwen smirked, pleased with herself. “There we go. Now it’s a proper three-way call.”
Barb didn’t waste time. “So, what’s this big thing you wanted to tell us?”
Nancy hesitated. “Well… you both know how Steve and I started dating, right?”
Gwen bumped her shoulder against Nancy’s. “Yeah.” She shot her a teasing grin. “Big man on campus, huh?”
Nancy smiled back, but Barb was more blunt. “Obviously. The whole school knows.”
Nancy’s smile faltered. “Yeah… about that.” She hesitated again. Gwen didn’t like the pause. It wasn’t the ‘I’m about to gush about my amazing boyfriend’ kind of pause. It was something else.
“Steve and I… aren’t serious.”
Gwen frowned. “Did Steve say that?” She shifted on the bed, narrowing her eyes. “Because you guys *look* serious. I thought he really liked you when he asked you out.”
Barb added, “No, I think what Nancy means is they just started dating, so obviously it’s not that serious. Right, Nance?”
Nancy bit her lip. “No, guys. It’s just…” She exhaled sharply. “I’m not into Steve. Like, I’m not interested in him but want to be his girlfriend.”
A silence settled in for a beat too long. Gwen sat up slightly, eyebrows raised. “What do you mean?”
Barb sounded just as confused. “Nance, we shopped the whole weekend for a top just because you thought Steve might like it.”
Nancy sighed. “Alright, listen. I *like* Steve, but not like that.”
Gwen folded her arms. This was getting weird.
Nancy took a deep breath. “You both know how Steve is—popular, ‘King Steve’ and all that. If I’m his girlfriend, I can be popular too. You know, go to parties, be cool, be part of the gang and stuff.”
Gwen almost gagged. “You mean be part of a group with Tommy and Carol?” Her voice dripped with distaste.
Nancy waved a hand dismissively. “You guys too! We three can be popular and cool. Go to parties, actually enjoy high school. Not just be—” she paused, looking between them, “—three prudes in front of the whole school.”
Barb still sounded confused. “Nancy, I don’t get you.”
Gwen, on the other hand, *did* get it. And she did not like it.
Nancy wasn’t with Steve because she liked him. She was using him. He wasn’t a boyfriend; he was a stepping stone, a ticket to popularity. And all that acting and faking just for that? It was absurd.
But apparently, Barb had other plans.
“Did Steve call you today?” Barb asked.
Nancy shook her head. “Not yet.” Then, she smiled, almost smug. “But he will. I know he will.”
Gwen frowned, a twinge of sadness settling in her chest. Steve actually liked Nancy. She had no doubt he’d call, probably thinking about her right now, all excited, maybe even nervous. And here Nancy was—so sure, so casual about it—because, to her, Steve wasn’t a person. He was a guarantee. She felt a little bad for the guy.
Nancy nodded again.
Barb’s voice softened. “Maybe you’ll love him eventually.”
Nancy hesitated. “I don’t think—”
“He’s cute,” Barb cut in.
Gwen barely held back a laugh. This was Barb’s method? Subtly nudging Nancy into not being a bad person by reminding her how good her boyfriend looks? With all that hair and stuff. Straight-up calling her best friend’s boyfriend cute to her face? Bold move.
Nancy chuckled. “Yeah, he’s cute.”
She was about to say something else, but Barb interrupted again. “Then you like him.”
Nancy’s tone shifted, frustration creeping in. “Barb, I told you—it’s not—”
Gwen stayed quiet, listening as they went back and forth. She wasn’t as close to either of them as they were to each other—she’d only moved to Hawkins a few years ago—but she could see where this was going. Barb was trying to convince Nancy to give Steve a real chance. Nancy wasn’t budging. And Gwen? She wanted no part of this fake relationship mess.
Then—
“Hey, you guys want pizza?”
Gwen turned toward the door. Dustin Henderson stood in the doorway, looking way too comfortable for someone who had just barged into a conversation he wasn’t invited to.
Nancy started to get up, but Gwen held out an arm, stopping her. She shot Dustin an unimpressed look and walked over, shutting the door in his face.
“Rude,” Dustin called from the hallway.
Gwen rolled her eyes and turned back toward Nancy, her mind still racing.
This whole thing? It was messed up.
And she had a feeling it was only going to get worse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nancy and Gwen walked side by side along the school road, the morning sun casting long shadows as they waved to Nancy’s mom, who drove off after dropping them off. The air was crisp, the usual morning chatter of students filling the space around them.
Nancy glanced around, scanning the crowd near their usual meeting spot. “Where’s Barb?” she asked, frowning.
Gwen smirked. “Probably waiting to jump you with questions.”
As expected, as soon as Nancy stepped into the schoolyard, Barb appeared beside them, seamlessly falling into step. Her eyes flickered between Nancy and Gwen before settling on Nancy with barely contained excitement. “So,” Barb started, her voice hushed but eager, “did he call?”
Meaning Steve, of course.
Gwen watched as Nancy quickly shushed her, glancing around before lowering her voice. “Keep your voice down,” she hissed, then straightened her posture. “I told you, it’s not like that.” She said firmly.
Barb smiled. “So, did he?”
Nancy hesitated for a fraction of a second. “No….” Then, catching herself, she quickly corrected, “I mean, yes.” A slow smile crept onto her lips as she added, “He said he likes me.”
Gwen kept her expression neutral, but inwardly, she sighed. “But I told you,” Nancy continued, “it’s not like that.” Reminding them both of her scheme.
She sounded more amused than anything, as if it were funny that Steve was falling for something that wasn’t real.
They reached her locker, and Nancy unlocked it smoothly while Gwen leaned on her left side, Barb on her right.
Nancy hesitated for a moment, then casually shrugged. “We just…” She smiled, as if she had achieved something but underplaying it. “…made out a couple of times.”
"We just....made out a couple times," Barb said adding an exaggerated, dreamy sigh. “Seriously, Nancy, you’re going to be so cool now, it’s ridiculous.”
Nancy practically gushed at that. “No, I'm not” she said, her voice practically dripping with satisfaction but acting all innocent, both Gwen and Barb noticing how happy she was at the mention of her being cool.
Gwen fought the urge to roll her eyes. The two of them were happy over this plan as if Nancy had just won some prizes. Kissing Steve. Dressing up for Steve. Acting like she loves him—all to use him like a ticket to popular.
Gwen might not know Steve personally, but this? This felt wrong.
They turned the conversation to Barb, who playfully warned Nancy about not to forget her once she became friends with Tommy and Carol.
Nancy playfully glared, she knows that there might be a chance her plan to make Steve be interested in her not working and said that it was just one time, two time thing. Then they caught something in her locker.
A folded note.
Nancy picked it up, unfolding it as her two friends read it. “Meet me in the restroom.” it said along with the sender's name. “Steve.”
Barb smirked. “You were saying?”
Nancy pressed her lips together, feigning modesty, but the glint in her eyes betrayed her.
Gwen, watching the whole exchange, finally said what they were all thinking. “Looks like your little plan is working after all.”
Nancy didn’t even deny it. She simply smiled and closed her locker. “Well, as long as he thinks I’m interested in him, it’s good for us.”
Gwen let out a scoff, low and under her breath. Us?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nancy stepped into the bright restroom, her gaze flickering across the tiled floor before settling on Steve. He was waiting near the stalls, his body tense with anticipation.
The moment he saw her, he grabbed her bag and tossed it carelessly to the ground. Before she could react, he pushed her against the wall, his lips crashing onto hers.
Nancy’s breath hitched at the sudden intensity. For a brief second, shock paralyzed her—but then she remembered her role.
She kissed him back, lips locking with a fake eagerness, her hand sliding to the side of his neck in what looked like a loving caress. Her fingers moved deliberate, on his shoulders and down his chest, acting her part.
Steve smiled against her lips, completely oblivious. He thought this was love, something real. Nancy could feel it in the way he kissed her, in the way his hands gripped her waist like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.
As always, she was the one to pull away first.
Steve, eager as ever, moved to her neck, pressing slow kisses along her skin. Nancy forced a small, breathy smile, “Steve,” she said softly. He hummed against her neck, his arms still around her. “I need to go.” Another hum, this one more reluctant. A muffled no.
She glanced at her watch, and right on cue, the bell rang—her escape. “Steve,” she tried again, pushing at his chest slightly as he kissed her lips again, “Seriously, I need to go.”
He sighed but finally let go, stepping back as she bent down to grab her bag. Before she could, he scooped it up first, holding onto it as if it would make her stay longer.
“Let’s do something tonight,” he said.
Nancy tensed for a fraction of a second before schooling her features into something neutral. She needed an excuse— to not.
Then she remembered her test for tomorrow. “Uh… I can’t,” she said, reaching for her bag, but he didn’t let go. “I have to Study.”
They argued about it back and forth. Steve flirty, Nancy acting flirty as always. But he was reluctant. Desperate.
Nancy could see it in his face—he was falling deeper, believing in something that wasn’t even there. Then their talk ended.
She almost walked away, almost left it at that. But then a thought hit her as she stopped by the entrance of the restroom. What if he lost interest? She didn’t go through all of this just for it to fall apart now.
Nancy smiled, “Pick me up at the cafe tonight at 8....To Study” She flashed him a flirtatious smile before slipping out of the restroom.
Steve smiled happily and picked up his bag.
Outside, Gwen and Barb were waiting for her. “What happened?” Barb asked, eyes flicking between Nancy and the restroom door.
“He wants to meet tonight,” Nancy said, adjusting the strap of her bag.
Gwen frowned. “But don’t you have the test tomorrow?”
Nancy barely hesitated. “Yeah, but I had to say yes,” she admitted. “Otherwise, everything I did till now would be useless.”
Gwen and Barb exchanged a look.
A tight, knowing look.
Nancy was slipping—losing herself little by little to this game, this performance, this chase for popularity. The old Nancy, the one they grew up with, wouldn’t have cared about anything other than passing that test.
Now?
Now, all she cares about is being popular
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The door slammed behind her as Gwen stepped inside, barely making it two steps before the sharp voice of her mother cut through the air.
"Where were you?"
The words weren’t just spoken—they were yelled at her the moment she entered. Gwen barely blinked at the hostility, too used to it to care.
“At Barbara’s,” she said coolly, already making her way toward the stairs.
She had almost made it before a firm hand grabbed her wrist.
“Why didn’t you call?” her mother demanded, her voice strained, not with anger, but something far rarer—concern. “I was worried.”
Gwen scoffed, shaking her head as a bitter laugh nearly escaped her lips. "That’s a first."
It wasn’t loud, but it was enough.
Her mother’s face twisted, her eyes narrowing as she asked, “What did you just say?”
Gwen didn’t respond, but she didn’t need to. Her mother’s voice was sharper this time, accusing. “Didn’t you hear the news? The whole town is talking about it—the Byers boy is missing. Is this all a joke to you?”
Gwen clenched her jaw, looking away, but her mother wasn’t done.
“I was worried,” she repeated. “I even sent your father to—”
“That man is not my dad!” Gwen hissed, her voice low but filled with fury. “And he never will be.”
Her mother flinched, but Gwen didn’t stick around to see the reaction.
She yanked her wrist free and bolted up the stairs.
“Gwen! Come back here!”
The voice followed her, but she didn’t stop.
Didn’t look back.
She reached her room and slammed the door shut, leaning against it as her knees gave out.
And then—silence.
Her chest heaved, her vision blurred as she blinked furiously, but the tears came anyway.
Her eyes burned as memories surfaced, the ones she buried but could never quite escape.
Her real father.
The one who loved her.
The one who killed himself because her mother decided she wasn’t enough.
Because she threw him away the moment some random guy gave her attention.
Gwen dug her nails into her palms, pressing them hard enough to sting.
Her mother wanted to act worried now?
She could choke on it.
Because the only man who was ever really her father was gone.
And it was all her fault.