Nancy, the whole town knows about it by now. [A beat, uncertain. ] He didn't tell you about what happened?
[Maybe Jim wouldn't, either. He thinks: I should get on top of this, because it's not a secret that Jim's friends with John and House, and it's not a secret that Danny's living under their bed, on their leash, under their thumb. ]
Short of it is Johnson killed Quentin back in December. Hit the town before everything else went to shit after.
[The rest of it is gossip, and it's not his place to say what Danny did before it. He adds, after a beat: ] Don't go looking for trouble. We've got enough of it as is.
[ A pause while Nancy seriously considers what Quentin told her, about Eddie and his proximity to Danny. But opts instead to something more insular: ]
I tried to shoot Billy at the mall, before he died. [ a little defensive. ] I know he wasn't in control of himself, but it was going to make him hurt the kids.
[ The kids as a clear delineation between her and her brother, and Max, and Eleven, and Dustin, and Lucas. ]
[More from Quentin. Danny is - complicated. A complication so vividly miserable that he isn't sure how to explain it to himself sometimes, let alone himself. He braces, for a moment, and adds: ] He staying away from you?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He swallows it down. ]
Yeah, yeah it's me, Nancy. Sorry, it's been a while since I - the voice is easier to recognise.
[Quentin told me you were here. Doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. He exhales, rough. ] You in town, kid?
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[ Easy information to volunteer. But she isn't entirely certain of what to say next, what to offer or what to volunteer. ]
Quentin said you have a cabin. Like in Hawkins.
[ Home, she reminds herself. Like at home. ]
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[Smaller than home, he means. Colder, too. ] You come from home, kid? Or the same place as Quentin?
[That's two very different conversations to have. Do you know about the serial killer and do you think I'm dead?]
me struggling with my three icons
The same place as Quentin. [ softer: ] Steve was there with me. We couldn't find a way back.
[ So they had to stay. Survive in the place they'd landed. Weirdly apt preparation for this. ]
omg we gotta get you some
[A beat. ] He filled you in, on who's here?
i'm workin' on it
He told me where I could find you. He said Eddie was here. And Billy Hargrove.
[ A slight dip of exasperation on the latter name. ]
There's no one else from Hawkins here?
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[Six months ago, almost. Half a year. ] Quentin tell you anyone else was here?
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Hopper, who shouldn't know any of this. ]
He told me someone we both knew was here. Someone from where Quentin and I were before this.
[ steeling herself for this conversation, she presses: ]
Did Quentin tell you about it?
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[Maybe Jim wouldn't, either. He thinks: I should get on top of this, because it's not a secret that Jim's friends with John and House, and it's not a secret that Danny's living under their bed, on their leash, under their thumb. ]
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What happened?
[ which jim can certainly take to mean: no, quentin didn't tell her. ]
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[The rest of it is gossip, and it's not his place to say what Danny did before it. He adds, after a beat: ] Don't go looking for trouble. We've got enough of it as is.
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Quentin gave her names. People Danny likes to shadow. He’d said Eddie’s name too. He hadn’t told her that he’d died. (Been killed.)
She doesn’t say okay. Instead: ]
What kind of trouble?
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[ some genuine confusion in her voice, underscored by the more dangerous thing: curiosity. ]
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[A beat, then a sigh.] They go to extremes for slights against her. Have you spoken to Eddie and Billy? You might be safer with them.
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[ A pause while Nancy seriously considers what Quentin told her, about Eddie and his proximity to Danny. But opts instead to something more insular: ]
I tried to shoot Billy at the mall, before he died. [ a little defensive. ] I know he wasn't in control of himself, but it was going to make him hurt the kids.
[ The kids as a clear delineation between her and her brother, and Max, and Eleven, and Dustin, and Lucas. ]
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[He’s wildly ill-prepared to handle teen drama, let alone teen-drama with possession trauma. ]
He and Eddie and their - [a beat, tired,] girlfriend, know the ropes. They’d keep you safe.
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I'm not going to shoot Billy [ unprovoked, Nancy doesn't add. ] when I see him.
[ Rather than ask about girlfriends or what the ropes entail, Nancy asks quietly: ]
Are you sure it's only us?
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Far as I know, it's just us. No one else has reached out, and I haven't seen anyone else in - a long time.
[Too long. Such a long, long time now, since he last saw his family. ] I don't hope for anyone to come here, Nancy. Neither should you.
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She's quiet for a minute, thinking, before she tells him: ]
It's better here than where I was. Steve would agree with me.
[ Though she softens this with: ]
But not better than Hawkins.
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[More from Quentin. Danny is - complicated. A complication so vividly miserable that he isn't sure how to explain it to himself sometimes, let alone himself. He braces, for a moment, and adds: ] He staying away from you?
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I don't think he knows I'm here yet.
[ Unclear what will happen when he does. (Nancy knows, she does, but Hopper might not need to.) ]
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[don't ask, pls Nancy.]
bow on this?
I'll try. I promise.
[ however— ]