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“Come on, Nancy, please!,” Mike pleaded.
Dustin echoed her brother’s begging, taking it a step further by dramatically falling onto his knees. “Pretty, pretty please Nance.” Ever since his leg had been officially cleared by the doctor, the curly-haired boy had taken doing everything full force, something that always caused Steve to flinch.
The two teens had barged into her room, spewing 1,000 words per minute and talking themselves into a jumbled mess that she barely managed to understand. Before they had discovered the Upside Down and before she had set her focus on doing anything to become the girl that makes it out of Hawkins, Nancy was an expert at deciphering the muddled ramblings of four rambunctious young boys. But now, she was a bit rusty.
Despite the absence of Lucas and Will, the scene before her triggered the memory of the first time Mike had brought them to their home. Little boys had burst into her room, two of whom she’d never met before (Will was Mike’s first friend so she knew him), urging her to help them decorate the basement for their ‘adventures’. And when they discovered Dungeons & Dragons, they dragged her out of her room so that she could be their dungeon master.
The same request being asked of her right now.
Nancy shook her head to wave off the nostalgia and closed the book she had been reading before their interruption. “Why aren’t you asking Eddie to be your DM?”
“Ugh, I already explained. Weren’t you paying attention?” Dustin elbowed Mike as the snarkiness crept back into her brother’s voice.
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not my fault that you guys were speaking over each other.”
Before Mike could retort, Dustin cleared his throat and interceded. “After everything we’ve been through, Mike and I thought it would be nice to have everyone join a campaign. We were going to ask Eddie, but even though the stubborn idiot won’t admit it, I could see he tires easily. Building and maintaining a campaign, especially for a big group might be a bit too much for him. Plus” He paused for a quick smile “you’re the best.”
Nancy couldn’t help but laugh at his attempt to sweet talk her. It was cute and a reminder why he was her favorite of the boys. He never failed to bring a smile to her face. Right as she was going to respond, a raspy voice interrupted her. “Trying to steal my girl, Henderson?” Her favorite person launched herself onto her bed, being very careful to avoid hitting her with her flailing limbs. Once she landed, Robin leaned over to give her a brief kiss. “Hey,” Robin whispered.
Mike feigned a disgusted face. “Ew.” But the twitch at the corner of his mouth gave him away.
“Hahaha. Funny,” the shorter boy sarcastically replied to Robin. You’re lucky I’m happily taken or else you wouldn’t have a girlfriend.” He wore an arrogant smirk, but Nancy could see the small smile replace it, belying his amusement.
Her brother glanced at her, imploring her to make them stop, but Nancy ignored him and made herself comfortable on her bed, knowing this banter may take awhile. It was not the first time they chose this theme as the center of their joking. And knowing them, it won’t be the last. Mike just shook his head and disgruntledly sat down on her chair.
“You think you’d be competition?”
Nancy took note of the mischievous gleam in the younger boy’s eyes, something that Robin missed based on the confident look on her face. “There wouldn’t even be competition. Didn’t Nancy tell you?” Nancy shrugged at Robin’s silent question, not knowing where he was going with it. “We slow danced together at the Snow Ball., swaying to Time After Time . Very romantic,” he teased, waggling his eyebrows in front of Robin’s shocked face.
The three of them broke into laughter as Robin was at a loss for words, gaping like a fish out of water. She turned towards Nancy. “You danced with him?” At her nod, Robin admitted defeat and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah whatever dork.”
Dustin fist pumped and extended his arm in Nancy’s direction for a high-five, which she happily gave if only just to see the look of betrayal on the freckled-girl’s face. She gave her a peck on her cheek to soften her teasing, sticking out her tongue at Mike when he fake gagged.
“Why are you dweebs here anyways? Isn’t your hangout space the basement?” Robin asked the teen boys.
Mike huffed. “Better than being a band geek,” he quipped without skipping a beat. “Anyways, we came to ask Nancy if she could be the DM for the game night we were planning to host this Friday. We finally convinced Max, El, and Steve to try D&D.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Back up just a second. First of all, why wasn’t I told about this game night? And second of all,” she whipped her attention towards Nancy, “how did I not know you played Dungeons and Dragons. I’m dating a dweeb? This is hilarious.” Nancy’s face burned bright as the other girl broke into incredulous laughter. Mike and Dustin froze at her brother’s slip-up, unsure of what they should do next.
Nancy had never told anyone about her history with D&D, even going as far as swearing the boys to secrecyー something they held until now. At first, it was only to entertain them while her mother did chores with Holly on her hip and her father snored away on his lazy-boy dead to the world. She knew Mike and his friends struggled with the other children at school, so leading the campaigns after their first one were attempts to cheer them up when they showed up to the house with solemn faces. Soon she had four little ducklings following her around the house the minute she would return from school. Sometimes they would come home with pre-planned dejection, until Nancy caught them red-handed when she told them to set up the basement and heard their ‘secret’ celebration as she walked down the stairs.
It would be a lie to say she hadn’t enjoyed the game as it was Nancy that pretended she hadn’t heard their giggling at the thought that she had fallen for their trick. She had always loved reading, getting lost with every turn of the page, and had always loved to imagine her own stories. To her, being a DM was like being an author, weaving her own adventures and creating every imaginable scenario at the drop of a hat. Sure, there were constraints and surprises that came with not knowing what the boys would do, but she loved the challenges they presented. To her, it felt like she was creating a new wardrobe that would take her and the boys to a world far away from Hawkins, far away from the bullies and judgemental eyes. To their own Narnia.
But then the judgmental stares of her peers and the pressure she placed on herself made her turn away from this childish gameーthe moniker Nancy gave it so she could remain steadfast in her decision to abandon it. Nancy ran away from fantastical adventures and mythical creatures, and ran into the safe arms of popularity and cute boys.
If only her past self could see herself now, having faced creatures far worse than those from her campaigns while falling head over heels for a girl (a girl far different from the boys she convinced herself to like, a girl whose best friend is one of those said boys).
When no one else said anything, Robin’s laughter cut off. Her glances flittered curiously between the three of them before landing on Nancy, probably sensing that Mike and Dustin had deferred to her. Nancy gave an imperceptible nod to the boys, freeing them from the oath they made years ago, because after facing the possibility of death multiple times, she no longer gave a shit what others thought of her. And she knew Robin would never judge her.
“She’s amazing! Nancy basically taught us how to play. She helped each of us create our very first character sheet and also led our first campaign. Her DM skills are insanely good,” Dustin praised. “She even dressed up as an elf!” he added.
At Robin’s look of slight disbelief, Mike confirmed his friend’s thoughts. “As much as it pains me to admit, Nancy is the best. Even better than Eddie.”
The absence of Mike’s usual snark made Robin pause for a split second before shaking heard, a small smile on her face. “Of course, she is. It’s impossible for Nancy Wheeler to not be the best at anything she does.” Nancy rolled her eyes and moved to playfully shove Robin, but the taller girl grabbed her extended hand and pulled her into her arms. She huffed, but made herself comfortable in her girlfriend’s hold. “Sign me up for this, no way am I missing the chance to witness Nancy in all her glory.”
“Well, we’re still trying to convince Nancy to be the DM,” Dustin told Robin, but looked over at Nancy with puppy eyes.
Robin immediately hopped onto his tactic, widening her eyes and pouting her lips an inch away from her own face. “Oh come on Nance! You have to do it. Please.” Unlike Mike and Dustin’s pleading, Robin’s was actually breaking down her resolve. Not that Nancy would have said no, she thought that a game night would be wonderful for everyone to relax together and act like regular teens, but she would never not give Mike a hard time. It was the one constant she relied on the past few years.
So breaking her neutral face, thanks to Robin, Nancy consented. “Okay, I’ll be the DM. But you know my rules.”
Dustin eagerly nodded. “Yup! Don’t worry, we’ll send the info as soon as we have it.” He dug through the bag he dropped when he first entered the room, and set a familiar heavy book and notebook on her desk. “I’ll leave this here so you can prep. Thanks Nancy!” He dragged Mike away, only letting him wave goodbye, probably before he could say something to change Nancy’s mind.
After the boys left her room, she shifted to face Robin. “Your girl, huh?”
Nancy couldn’t hold in her grin (nor did she want to) at the pretty blush that steadily progressed across her girlfriend’s freckles, neck, and ears; three months of dating has not lessened Robin’s propensity for burning bright red whenever her subtle possessiveness was called out. It was adorable to say the least, which was surprising when the thought first happened . Normally, Nancy wasn’t one for the possessive form. She had always been an attachment, an accessory to someone else, such as Steve’s girlfriend or Jonathan’s girlfriend. It was as if no one could ever say her name without mentioning either boy, like her name wasn’t enough. Nancy knew that she wasn’t able to change that, but it didn’t stop the twinge of irritation when “my girl” would slip from Steve’s lips, something she clipped early in her relationship with Jonathan.
But it was different with Robin. No one outside their group knew about their relationship (for obvious reasons that came with living in a small city in Indiana), so their names were rarely intertwined. Nancy thought that this change would be refreshing, to not be viewed as an extension of someone else. The anger and irritation was gone, which was a reprieve in itself, but it wasn’t as if immense joy followed. All she felt was ambivalence, at least in the beginning, but it slowly transformed into quiet remorse with each passing incident of a nosy Hawkin residents asking about her love life, where she had to refrain herself from reacting to the flash of hurt across Robin’s face as she denied being in a relationship.
They had talked about it after the first time it happened, tucked away in the woods under the open night sky with nothing but an endless array of stars watching over them. She remembered how reluctant Robin was, the slight hunch of her shoulders contradicting the “It’s fine” and the “It’s okay, really, I understand”, when Nancy tried to bring up her concerns. It took a bit of prying and gentle ministrations for her girlfriend to lower her walls and divulge her thoughts that she had been concealing. Nancy was quick to stop Robin’s apologies, telling her that she never had to apologize for her feelings. The result of that night? Robin being unafraid to use the possessive nouns and touches, when they were with people they trusted. And instead of the pinch of anger or annoyance that would erupt with Steve and Jonathon, adoration would swell inside her as she witnessed Robins’ confidence grow stronger and her smile burn brighter as the words would leave her mouth.
Like at this moment. “Yes, my girl,” Robin emphasized as she wrapped her long arms around Nancy’s waist and pressed a kiss on her head. After a minute of comfortable silence, Robin spoke. “So… do you still have that elf costume,” she asked as she wiggled her eyebrows playfully.
She rolled her eyes. “Idiot,” Nancy remarked, but made no move to pull away from her girlfriend.