Chapter Text
the ride to true directions was...well,long. both nancy and Mike remained firm on the fact that there was no way they were going. which of course didn't stay true.
there new home for the next few months was about a 4 hours drive from hawkings but it felt like days. Ted wheeler talked nearly the whole time about his "expectations" for when they returned home and the punishments for not following them. eventually nancy was able to drown it out to no more than a faint hum in the background. mike just mumbled insults, complaints and thrust the occasional rude hand gesture at the back of the driver's seat.
as they rolled up the dirt path to the brightly colored homestead nancy felt a pit in her stomach. how will she ever survive 6 months in this place.
"hello hello hello!" waved a cheery woman dressed head to toe in hot pink and seemed to walk as though she were trying not to fall over in her heels.
"welcome to true directions you must be nancy-" she shook her hand, "and you must be Michael"
"it's mike" he replied dully, shaking her hand back.
"my apologies Mike, I'm mary, the owner and founder of true directions" she turned to Ted
"thank you for bringing them to us, I know how difficult it can be. but I must say I do have hope for these two!" she added in that sickly sweet voice
they said there goodbyes to their parents and then were escorted inside. the house wasn't all that bad. definitely not what nancy was expecting. not what she imagined.
a girl and a boy about the same age as them walked into the office where they were seated.
"this is Vickie Dunne and will byers-" she adressed "they will be showing you around seeing as you arrived a day later than the others"
mike was the first to get up, he introduced himself awkwardly and spoke as if the words were falling out of his mouth.
"oh wait-" Mary interrupted "I almost forgot-" she held out one pink and one blue hospital gown "the first step of the program is acceptance and until you can do that you must wear these"
oh, great.
trailing along in her gown nancy followed Vickie.
"breakfast is at 7, oh exept for weekends, there at 8, lunch at 12, dinner at, once again, 8! lights out at 10, bedroom rules include no boys, no loud music and no "inappropriate behaviour" whatever that means? every day we have a debrief after our last class and parents day is on Sundays. the first step of the program, as you already know, is acceptance, and as of this morning everyone but you and your brother have past. other than that I don't think you've really missed much" Vickie blurted with the same amount of enthusiasm from start to finish.
it was exhausting.
"sounds great!" nancy lied over a strained smile.
Vickie let out a soft chuckle "this is our room" she gestured "that's Michelle, Tara, Kimberley and robin"
on the last bed lay a girl with short dirty blond hair, freckled skin and bright blue eyes. she lay at the end of her bed with her head upside down looking toward nancy.
"cute dress" she quips, rolling onto her elbows.
nancy scoffs " I would've loved to see yours"
the girl giggles to herself before exiting the room.
Vickie stands awkwardly beside her.
"don't worry about her, she doesn't really have a filter, or a strong grasp of social cues"
nancy wanted to say that they seem alike but decided it sounded a bit rude.
"you mean she's a dork" the raven haired girl, Tara adds
"well that's not fair!" Vickie argues
"oh, come on, we all know you've got a thing for her" the brunette Michelle, continues.
"alright enough bickering, it's debrief time" Kimberley finishes.
the room they meet in is once again Mary's signature pink, with orange couches circling two plastics seats. all the girls, Mary, Mike, the boy she met in Mary's office, murray and 4 other boys whose names she does not know, sit around.
nancy and Mike are instructed to sit in the middle of the room.
"now boys and girls I would like you to meet Mike and nancy" Mary introduces.
"for today's debrief I would like to get them familiar with the program and its steps. could anyone tell me step one?" she asks
silence fills the room.
"come on now, don't be shy. Carlton, could you tell me the first step please?"
the boy sighs "admitting you're a homosexual"
"perfect! I would like everyone to introduce themselves, tell us something about you and admit that the're a homosexual. Carlton you start"
one by one the room introduces itself.
"im Carlton, I'm on the football team and I'm a homosexual"
"um, I'm will, I play dnd and...I'm a homosexual"
"im Ethan, I like to read and...homosexual"
"im conner, I...play arcade games and I'm a homosexual"
"im dean, I like to watch movies and I'm a homosexual"
"hi, im Vickie, I'm in band and I'm a homosexual"
"im Michelle, I skate and I'm a homosexual"
"my names Kimberley, I like music and I'm a homosexual"
"Tara, heavy metal, homosexual"
"...it's robin..." the last one said without looking up from picking at her chipped black nail polish.
Mary, who sat beside her swatted at her side until she looked up with a strained smile.
"we met" she said
Mary only glared.
"fine!"she groaned "im robin, I like girls and I'm a raging homosexual"
"thank you everyone!" Mary continued "now..."
faintly, nancy could hear Mary blab on and on about something, but she wasn't really focusing.
she was too busy staring at robin and trying to think about how she's ever gonna put up with sharing a room for the next 6 months.
God she hated her. her and her snarky remarks and her careless attitude. her anoying habits and the sound of her biting her nails. her stretched out seating and her long legs. her messy hair and her scattered freckles. her-
"nancy now it's your turn"
"what?" she replied snapping out of her trance. robin made a noice of anoyance in the background making Nancy regain herself.
"your brother here has completed his first step. now it is your turn to do so"
dumbfounded at mikes discovery and the question, nancy stuttered "but...but...I'm not"
silence.
"im here by mistake, my parents forced me here. I have a boyfriend" she insisted
"that's what they all say" robin muttered.
"im not like all of you! I get perfect grades! I have the perfect boyfriend! I'm supposed to be off to college! I'm from hawking of all places! why can't anyone understand that I'm not what they think I am!"
"listen sweetheart-" Murray started
"don't...call me sweetheart!"
Murray put his hands up in surrender and nancy took a deep breath to calm herself.
"im not what everybody thinks I am. everybody looks at other girls, its only natural, but it's not like I do anything about it, I still have a boyfriend, i'm still normal"
robin scoffed quietly (not quiet enough)
"oh I'm sorry do you have something to say?" nancy snapped.
the freckled girl was caught yet unbothered.
"for someone so smart you sure are dumb"
with a heat in her face nancy countered "and what's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't think you realise that looking at other girls isn't normal, at least what you think when you do isn't"
nancy thought for a moment. back to the times at school in the locker rooms, the way she felt, the desire, the guilt. she thought about the r rated movies she and her freinds would watch at sleepovers and the attention she paid to the woman. she thought about the nervous feeling in her stomach she got around a pretty girl. she thought it was just admiration or jealousy or something. but in that moment nancy new she was wrong. it never seemed to cross her mind that others around her didn't feel the same. that they didn't think the same thoughts. nancy was weird, she always has been. she thought of Steve and the first time they kissed. she didn't even like it. it felt like nothing compared to the feelings she got around a girl. nancy knew it-
"im a homosexual" she let out in a breathy whisper.
"oh children, I am so very proud of you all!" Mary beamed
nancy was in shock how hadn't she put the pieces together before. around the room everyone congratulated each other on reaching the next step. mike chatted awkwardly to will wearing a similar look of shock but there was also a glint in his eyes that she couldn't quite word. could it be relief. she doubted it, how could you possibly have relief after a confesion like that, nancy didn't she only felt dread and hoped that her father was right about this place.