Veronica Harrington and her best friends go on an adventure of a lifetime when one of their friends turns up missing. While on their search for their friend they meet a mysterious girl with and even more mysterious background who helps them find the...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
_______________________
The next morning Steve called all of the families of Roni's friends. They all said the same thing, Will Byers had died. It explained why Roni was crying that night. He spent the next few hours trying to figure out a way to comfort Roni, knowing that Will was one of her best friends.
He tried to cook her breakfast but he somehow burnt the eggs and bacon. Then he tried to read his mom's psychology books but couldn't understand anything it said. Once he heard light steps from upstairs he knew he had to bite the bullet and go and talk to her.
The door was cracked open and he could see that Roni was on her bed strumming a red guitar, Crimson. She played a sad tune and looking numbly at the wall in front of her. He knocks on the door. Roni looks up. "Come in," She speaks softly.
Steve opened the door and put his hand on the door frame and awkwardly put his hand on his hip. "I-uh, hey, Ver-Roni. How are you feeling?" He asks. Roni stops strumming and looks up at him. Her eyes suddenly fill with anger.
"How am I feeling?!" She yells, putting the guitar on the bed. "One of my best friends just died. What do you think I'm feeling right now?!" Roni's eyes burns with anger. Steve takes a step back.
"Fine, I was just trying to help," Steve turns around. Roni grabs the door and grips it tightly.
"Well, I don't need your help! I want my best friend back!" Her voice breaks as she slams the door. Steve clenches his fist and starts back down the stairs but freezes. Soft weeps are heard behind the door. Roni leans her head on the door, sitting on the floor.
Steve slides down the door and leans against it. He pulls one leg up and let the other one lay straight. "Hey, I'm uh, sorry. I'm really have no idea how to comfort you and stuff," He chuckles slightly. Roni sniffles a little bit.
"It's...okay. I'm sorry for yelling at you," She whispers through the door. Steve could hear her voice slowly come back.
"Do you want some ice cream?" He asks out of the blue. He knows that girls usually eat ice cream when their sad or on their monthly occurrences.
Steve didn't hear from her for second but the door opened revealing a puffy faced Roni. She wiped her red eyes with the back of her hand. "Yeah," She whispers. He nods and gets up to make them a bowl.
About 10 minutes later, Steve came in with two bowls of rocky road ice cream. He hands one to Roni and she takes it, diving into the bowl. Well, he got one thing right, girls love ice cream. "Thanks," She says softly.
Steve sits on the edge of her bed, eating ice cream silently. But he slowly peered around the room, noticing things he hadn't noted before. There was black clothing tossed about the room but the guitars she had were perfectly clean and stood straight up on the stands. And the amps didn't have one trace of dust on or around it.
His eyes lead up to her nightstand that had comic books laid on top of it. "You read comics?" Steve reaches over, taking the top comic. Roni shrugs, pushing her ice cream around.
"Kinda, the guys made me start reading them so I can understand their references. They're pretty cool." Roni took a spoonful of the cold substance.
Steve continued to flip through the story of, 'The Invincible Ironman!' "I used to read comics." He said distantly.
"I know, your favorite superhero was the Flash 'cause he was super fast. And mine was Batgirl," Roni smiles softly at the memories. "We used to play superheroes in the backyard. Even though when I was younger I didn't know what their powers were or what we were doing, all I wanted to do was spend time with you." Steve watches her for a moment.
"You remember all that?" Steve lays the comic down and eats a spoonful of ice cream.
Roni shrugs. "Yeah...but that was a long time ago," The siblings don't speak for a long time, both thinking of the fond memories of each other. Steve remembers how much Roni wanted to be with him, always following him both around the house and town, how much she looked up to him. It was a short time ago but it felt like forever.
Now, his sister didn't even want to be in the same room with him. Preferring to stay with her close-knit group of friends and he stayed with his. They soon finished their ice creams.
"So, are you going to school?" He asks. Roni twirls the end of her hair, then shakes her head.
"No, I just- just wanna take the day. Maybe talk to the guys, see how they're doing."
Steve nods and takes their empty bowls. "Okay, well, if you need anything, just let me know," He gives her a supportive smile and Roni returns with a closed lipped smile. He leaves the room, leaving Roni with her thoughts.
'Maybe if I rode with him home or gave him the Walkman that night, Will would be alive.' She thought. Guilt rose up, filling her with pain in her chest. 'It's all my fault. I was so selfish, thinking all about how hungry I was instead of Will. What kind of friend am I?' She thinks. Roni's shakes with grief.
"Roni. Roni. Roni-Poo. Rooooni!" A voice came from the Walkie-Talkie. Roni reached under her bed for it and pulled up the antenna.
"What Dustin?" She questioned with a gentle voice. Roni wiped a tear from her eyes.
"Come to Mike's house, he thinks..." Dustin pauses. She could hear him take a shaky breath. "That Will's alive." Roni freezes.
"I'm on my way." She pulls back down the antenna and grabs her backpack. Roni throws the Walkie-Talkie in and hauls it over her shoulder. As she's about to jump from her window, she pauses and looks at the comic Steve was looking at.
Steve enters Roni room and folds his arms over his chest. "Hey, how about we both skip and I'll take you to the movies?" He asks but notices an empty room. Her bedroom window was open, a cold wind comes through.
He closes it and sees a note attached to the glass. The note reads:
'Back in a few hours. Hanging with the boys. Thanks for 'comforting' me. From, Batgirl'
Steve sighs and puts the note into his pocket. He gives the room one last look and leaves for school.
