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NANCY 'THE SLUT' WHEELER—how original.
It was disgusting. It was rude, and snobby, and it was painted in big, bold letters above the Hawk Cinema for everyone to see.
'Everyone' included those who felt sympathy for the teenage girl and those who laughed and pointed at Nancy as she stood helplessly and completely broken in the middle of the road.
A car honked as it swerved around the trio of high schoolers, a middle-aged man sticking his middle finger out the window as he passed.
Whether he was agitated by their position in the road or if he was simply joining in on the fun of mocking an innocent girl, none of the three knew.
Valentina returned the favor though, having no patience for anyone else today.
She felt totally useless to Nancy but all she wanted was to make her feel better. She knew exactly how it felt to be embarrassed like this—well, not exactly—but she did know that going through it alone almost always made it worse.
She wished someone would not have let her go through it alone. So, she wasn't going to let Nancy.
The streets were now filled with plenty of people, with it being almost 10 o'clock in the morning, meaning that the majority of the town has already witnessed the vandalism that not only stains the marketing box of the theater, but stains the dignity of Nancy Wheeler who stands below it.
Valentina watches quietly as the girl clenches her jaw, scrunching her lips in frustration as tears well up in her sparkling blue eyes.
It's a devastating sight, one that neither the blonde nor Jonathon know how to fix as they look to each other with matching, lost stares.
Voices echo in the gentle breeze, ones not quite as soft as the Autumn air and rather piercing against the ears of their victims.
The three turn toward the sound to see an older couple walking, shamelessly staring at the brunette who has absolutely nothing to do with this situation but is facing the consequences, anyway.
Nancy spins, taking notice of the other strangers who judge her as if they know her life's story. They know nothing about her in reality.
Neither do Valentina and Jonathon, quite frankly, but they know with absolute certainty that Nancy's not the slut she was made out to be.
The sound of laughter rattles in the distance again, coming from the group's right where the street turns into a partially hidden alleyway.
Valentina glances at Nancy as her face goes stoic, but the brunette pays no mind to her two companions as she marches toward the growing volume of obnoxious laughter, Val and Jonathon trailing cautiously behind the furious girl.
"Wait!" the Byers-boy yells, but it's no use to the determined girl. She doesn't stop, or even slow her quick feet, until she's reached the corner of the street and turns to see the culprits, standing amongst each other with her boyfriend among them.
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Valentina falters as she recognizes the face of a particular dark-haired boy. He doesn't notice her as fast as she had.
Her feet subconsciously slow, causing her to fall into the back of the group, behind Jonathon, while Nancy doesn't hesitate to stomp right up to the man of the hour.
"Aw, hey there princess!" the familiar voice of Carol calls out, mocking the girl who is continuously being publicly shamed at the moment.
Valentina's mood drops even further, now more hurt by her best friend's behavior than the presence of her ex-best friend.
"Uh oh..." Tommy groans, "She looks upset."
Nancy ignores the snarky comments from the others, her watery eyes solely trained on her boyfriend's pair that hold no empathy or regret for his actions.
Valentina can see it even from where she stands at the other end of the alley. He's not sorry for what he did, and that only drags a knife through her bones even deeper than before. How could he switch up so fast after what they'd shared just that morning?
He seemed so genuine... so worried about his girlfriend and her safety. Now, it seemed as if all that emotion had shifted into hatred.
There's silence for a moment, until a crisp 'crack!' snaps through the dense, cold air.
Steve's head whips to his right, floppy hair following in a fluid motion as his body reacts to the slap.
"What is wrong with you!" Nancy doesn't miss a beat.
Neither does Steve, as he looks back to the girl with utter distaste written all over his face and words.
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you! I was worried about you."
Nancy's lips part in reaction to his unexpected hostility, unable to find the words to reciprocate his argument.
"I can't believe that I was actually worried about you," he mutters a bit quieter this time, but the fury is still ever-present.
"What are you talking about?"
"I wouldn't lie if I were you," the redhead butts in, "You don't wanna be known as the lying slut now, do you?"
Valentina walks up with Jonathon as they reach a spot a few feet behind Nancy, finally drawing the attention of the four vandals who had been focused on their target up until that moment.
"Speak of the devil."
All eyes fall to where the pair stands, awkwardly glancing at each other and the people around them.
Valentina feels weary under the pensive glares of the people that some she calls friends and some she calls foes. But right now, they all feel like the enemy.
Valentina has no idea what the other three believe happened that caused this catastrophe, but she knows the truth and that's good enough for her.
Despite her best friend being on the opposite side of this battle, Valentina knows that sticking up for Nancy is the right thing to do.
"Hi," Tommy sneers, jumping down from the step he previously stood on and landing on the blonde's left, the perfect position to stare down the Byers-boy at an uncomfortable proximity.
Realization dawns on Nancy as she witnesses the hostility toward the boy and the words spoken by Carol Perkins, recalling the events of last night and earlier that day when Steve came to see her but she'd been with Jonathan.
"You came by last night?"
Steve remains silent, allowing Carol to do the taunting for him, as his jaw juts upward, defying Nancy's intimidating glare with a stare down of his own.
