One

Chapter Nine - part six

-One Month Later-
Jonathan and Nancy had apparently helped get Hawkins Lab shut down, exposing them for covering up Barb's death with a tape that they had given this conspiracy theorist to get out to the public. After that, the lab was shut down by the government and Hawkins, Indiana was in the national spotlight. A bunch of different news stations had come to interview citizens in the small town, even sitting outside the high school to ask the students. One news station had even asked Phina something one day after school and at the Byers' later that night she had been shown on the news channel to Hopper's dismay and a little bit of anger.
"What do you think about the whole ordeal, did you know Barbra," the woman reporter had asked Phina.
Phina had turned to the camera with a grin full of pure malice, "Hawkins Lab was a place full of monsters." She had meant it literally and figuratively. " for what those bastards did to Barb, a dear friend of my sisters." Her grin grew wider at her next words and a little sadistic. "For what they did, they will all burn in hell."
Let's say Phina had a few stern talking to's from both Hopper, and her parents for cussing on tv.
Now that the secret was out, that her parents knew that Barb was dead, there was a funeral for her. They had a casket but with no body to bury in the ground. They said it was because the Lab had burned her body, but Phina and the rest of them knew that it was because her body was in the upside down, rotting away or eaten to nothing by those creatures. But now the town had time to heal, Nancy could finally grieve for her best friend and Barb could be remembered as the amazing person she was and not the runaway Hawkins Lab had tried to make her. They could all heal now, Phina could heal knowing that Hawkins Lab and the people who had hurt her were finally all gone.

Phina grinned at her brother from behind her mom as he deadpanned at the woman. She took picture after picture of him in his suit. Mike was going to the middle school's snowball tonight and their mom was overly excited.
She drops a picture and bends down to grab it, "oh, wait."
"All right, that's enough," Mike says as he rolls his eyes.
"One more, okay? Just one more," their mom pleaded as she puts the camera up to her face.
"Why," Mike groans.
"You look so handsome," Karen says
"Mom!"
Phina laughs, "oh come on, Mike, smile a bit!"
He gives the camera an exasperated look, "Mom!"
She snaps the photo and Phina laughs again, that photo was definitely going up on her wall, maybe she'd ask Jonathan if he could enlarge it as well.
Speaking of Jonathan, the doorbell rang and Phina ran over to open it. Her best friend was standing there with a single rose in his hand.
"Is it too late to try and convince you to go with us," he asks.
Phina grins, "why would I want to be the third wheel? Nancy's upstairs finishing up, Mike's in the living room. I'll go get Nance."
Jonathan grinned back at her at the mention of Nancy. Over this past month, they had finally stopped lying to themselves and everyone around them and started to date. The two of them were going to go help work the dance tonight, Jon taking pictures and Nance serving punch. They had tried to get Phina to go along with them but she had refused, wanting to stay home and enjoy some time without the lovebirds. She loved them, but new couples always sucked because they never paid attention to anyone else but each other, and Jonathan and Nancy were no exception. Phina enjoyed seeing them happy but figured they needed time to be happy together, just them.
"Nance, Jonathan's here to take you and Mike," Phina says as she pushes open her sister's door.
"Ok," Nancy smiled at her sister, turning to show Phina her dress, "how do I look?"
Phina smiled back, "you look beautiful, Nance."
"Thank you, Phina," Nancy says.
"You're welcome," Phina says, "now go, have a nice night, Nance."
Nancy hugs her sister quickly and runs down the stairs. Phina doesn't follow, just turns to her room and listens as Jonathan's car drives away.

Steve had dropped Dustin off at the dance and now his mind was wandering as he drove. He had a plan but he wasn't so sure he should go through with it. So he drove to the Wheeler house anyway. He parked on the other side of the street and went to the side of the house where he had climbed onto the roof many times in the past. By now, it was no effort to get up. Usually, he'd be there to sneak into Nancy's room, not this time. This time he climbed up to the peak of the roof.
"What are you doing here, Harrington," Phina's voice calls out, stopping him in his tracks.
The girl was sitting on the roof, blankets, pillows, books, art supplies, and lanterns on low light surrounding her. She was wearing a large gray hoodie that came down to her mid thighs and black shorts that could barely see beneath the hoodie, he'd think she'd be freezing if it wasn't for her powers.
"Uh," he blushes, "nothing?"
Phina laughs quietly, "sure, Harrington, sure."
He sighs, climbing over the peak of the roof, "I was actually here to find you."
She grins up at him, "well you found me. What do you want?"
He shrugs, walking down the roof to stand next to her blankets, "I'm not exactly sure, I didn't think I'd really get this far or that you'd be on the roof."
She laughs again, "well, you're here, might as well stay awhile."
She shifts over and nods for him to sit down next to her. As he does he can feel the warmth radiating off her, fighting off the chill of winter that set in around them.
"Do you do this often," he asks, gesturing to the set up around them.
Phina nods, "yeah, I like coming out here at night, looking up at the stars, drawing, reading, it's peaceful, you know? God knows I need some peace in my life."
Steve laughs, "ain't that the truth."
They settle into a comfortable silence and Steve looks at the things strewn around them. Her sketchbook lays close to him and he remembers something.
"You know, you're gonna kill me for this," he chuckles, "but the last time I was here, sneaking up on the roof, I uh, well I was looking for Nancy but I saw her and Jonathan and I was upset but I didn't leave. Instead, I climbed over to this side and, this is the part you're gonna kill me for, I looked in your window to find you. You were crying and looking in your sketchbook, you threw it and it landed in front of the window, open to a drawing, a drawing of me actually."
Phina's face goes red, not in anger but in embarrassment. She picks up her sketchbook and flips through the pages, stopping on the first ever drawing she did of him.
"Yep," he says, looking at it, "that's the one."
She sighs, "I did a few of these last year. I do this thing where I space out and just draw, for some reason, your face popped up a lot when I did this, it still does."
She opens the book to a few pages farther along in the book, each one had his face on them. He grabs the book from her hand when she stops on the most recent one, where his face was bruised and bloody after being beaten by Billy Hargrove.
"These are amazing, Phina," he says, wincing as he looks at the image, "almost too good, I can almost feel the pain."
She chuckles, taking the book back, "they would be better but I didn't have you there to reference them, just my memory."
He grins suddenly, "do you want to have a more accurate one?"
She raises her brows in question and he angles himself towards her, "I'm here, draw me."
She smiles, "um, ok. Just, uh, face me I guess, you don't have to pose or anything just... just keep your face neutral."
"Yes, ma'am," he salutes with a grin.

-1433 words-
   Awww, sweeties! So that's basically the end of the show but there is one more part, a completely OC chapter ;) ;) Oh the possibilities!!!
-Morgan