Work Text:
And I heard your voice
As clear as day
And you told me I should concentrate
It was all so strange
And so surreal
That a ghost should be so practical
Only if for a night
The forest trees, smell of rain vaguely on the ground, with hints of blood, the sound of that Monster snarling, followed by a shriek, "Nancy!"
She awoke with a start, heart beating rapidly she tried to even her breathing and drown out the sound of Barbara crying out for her. Thinking of her always made her heart clench, Nancy can only imagine what Barbara must have went through, supplied only by her own nightmares; each scenario just fuels her grief.
Crying softly trying hard to not wake anyone, Nancy reflects on her memories of Barbara. She remembers how her best friend used to say her name, with fondness over her naivety, traces of sarcasm when she caught her in a lie, joy whenever they felt giddy about anything from fashion to boys even schoolwork. Most nights Nancy can only imagine her screaming now, sometimes with fear, mostly with hate. She'd hate herself too.
Sleep forgotten for now, she lightly steps out of bed, the winter chill pricking her legs like pins and needles. Nancy finds herself in front of her bulletin board, all of her pictures of herself and Barb smiling back at her. Reaching into her left drawer she takes out the last and only photograph Jonathan took of Barb. Somehow it seemed wrong to throw it away.
She vividly remembers Barb's voice from That Night with urgency and disappointment,
"Nancy! Nancy. This isn't you."
At that time she didn't want to be Good Girl Nancy, she just needed to be wanted, she tried to find a balance between the two, but how could she?
"It's just, sometimes people don't say what they're really thinking. But you capture the right moment, it says more."
Staring at Barb sitting on the dive board, looking aimlessly down at the pool. Nancy couldn't help but feel guilty that she was the reason Barb's last moment was so.....Lonely. She saw a similar loneliness in the pictures of her.
Nancy would never admit it to herself or anyone for that matter; but she did need someone there. Before it was someone to make her feel special; wanted. Someone who could understand her, she still needs someone to understand her, but it's to fill a different loneliness than the one she felt before. Now she needs someone to help ease her back into her normal life, sans Barb. Tears were just as common as the nightmares were, she would never let anyone know of that fact, but her guilt wouldn't go away either.
Crawling back into bed, sniffling under the blankets, Nancy counts her tears dripping on her pillow, Barb's voice echoing in her ear,
"Just don't forget about me, once you become popular."