Reagan never believed that a park could cause her anxiety before.

It had a playground as well, which somehow made her even more nervous. Jonathan rubbed his hands on his knees as Nancy checked her watch. She could tell it was already passed the time Nancy had told Mrs. Holland to meet her but she decided to check to make sure. "It's fifteen past." Nancy announced to her friends, looking over at them. "Yeah. I know." Jonathan responded, looking around. "Just– give 'em time." He suggested.

"That guy. There." Reagan's anxiety proved to be helpful as she noticed a man reading the morning paper. Nancy turned her head in that direction, eying the man, noticing what Reagan had. "What?" Jonathan asked them. "He just... just talked to himself." Nancy explained. The guy noticed the three were looking and lowered his newspaper, causing the teenagers to all avert their gazes.

Jonathan looked around the park at all the people were in it and suddenly he was becoming as anxious as his girlfriend clearly was. Nancy swallowed a lump in her throat, recognizing the people around the park and identifying ones that weren't there to enjoy the autumn day. "I think we should go." She said in a hurry.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Reagan was quick to stand up. She reached out and Jonathan took her hand as they all began walking back to the boy's car. They tried to be fast and Jonathan looked back to see someone was already trailing after them. His grip tightened on his girlfriend, only letting go to get his car keys out of his pocket.

Once they reached his car, Jonathan climbed into the driver's seat immediately. Reagan got into the seat beside him as Nancy climbed into the back once again. Jonathan put his key in the ignition but the car wouldn't start. All of them were confused but the only one to panic was Reagan. She nearly jumped out of her seat when the man who was reading the newspaper knocked on the car window at her side.

"Trouble with your car, miss? I can give you three a lift if you like." The man offered, trying to sound friendly but he just ended up freaking the teenagers out. "Jonathan..." Nancy breathed out, leaning forward to see someone was approaching his window as well. All three of them noticed at the same time the man with the dog who was approaching the front of the car. They whipped their heads around, noticing the woman who stood behind.

They were surrounded.

Another knock came from the man at Reagan's window. "You're sure you don't need that ride?" He asked her before looking at Jonathan.

She let out a shaky breath which made Jonathan reach out to touch her back gently. "Are you okay?" He asked Reagan. The blonde had a little trouble breathing but she knew it wasn't because of her asthma. "I'm fine." She insisted but she didn't sound convincing. Nancy frowned at her friend, whipping her head around to look at the camera that was watching them. She still couldn't believe they stuck them all in an interrogation room as if they were the ones who were guilty.

Nancy stood up from her chair, glaring at the camera. "Hey!" She shouted, surprising her friends. "Hey, assholes!" Nancy continued. "Let us out of here!" She demanded, the door instantly being opened after. Dr. Owens was surprised by the girl's feistiness. "Oh." He said, almost sheepishly. It only made Nancy narrow her eyes at him.

"Not very pleasant in here, is it?" Owens looked around as Jonathan stood up, still keeping his hand on Reagan's back. She turned to him, giving him a look that silently told him not to worry. He lowered his hand and instead grabbed a hold of her hand. He wasn't letting her go that easily. "Sorry about that. Hospitality's not our strong suit. You know, scientists and all." The doctor explained.

He had this uneasy calmness about him which only concerned Reagan more. It only seemed to piss Nancy off. Owens looked at the brunette, noticing she wouldn't tolerate idle chatter. "Yeah. Okay." He said, checking his watch. "You up for a little walk?" It was phrased as a question but the teenagers knew they had no choice. Owens led the three out of the interrogation room. "I'm assuming you're behind me." The man said simply.

Owens led the group down a hallway. "Men of science have made abundant mistakes of every kind." He quoted. "George Sarton said that. You guys know who George Sarton is? Doesn't really matter." Owns dismissed. Reagan frowned,"History of science." She spoke up. Owens stopped briefly,"Clever girl." He commented before continuing his walking. "The point is, mistakes have been made. Yes." Owens admitted.

"Mistakes?" Nancy cut in, finding it unbearable to hear that the death of her closest friend was a simple mistake. "Yes." Owens answered. "You killed Barbara." She pointed out. "Abundant mistakes, but, the men involved with those mistakes, the ones responsible for what happened to your brother and Miss Holland's death, they're gone. They're gone, and for better for worse, I'm the schmuck they brought in to make things better." Owens said.

The three of them couldn't help but look around the lab. Reagan noticed they were testing pumpkins and she couldn't imagine why. She knew that Flo had told her about some complaints made in the pumpkin patches recently about the potential poisoning of crops but Reagan had dismissed that as just more paperwork to file when she went back to work.

"But I can't make things better without your help." Owens told them as he led them around a corner. "You mean without us shutting up?" Nancy retorted, sounding quite bitter. "She's tough, this one. I couldn't handle it myself. I would've picked clever too. You guys been together long?" He asked, looking at Jonathan and Reagan. Jonathan looked down at his hand, almost like he was making sure he still had a good hold of Reagan. "Almost a year." Jonathan answered, seeing no harm in it.

"Wanna see what really killed your friend?" Owens reached the door, opening it up and letting the three teenagers in. He looked around the room,"Teddy, I brought you an audience today. I hope you don't mind." He said. "The more the merrier, sir." Teddy told the man. Owens turned back to the teenagers, waiting to see their reaction. "I'd call it one hell of a mistake. Wouldn't you?" Owens asked simply.

He was treating it so casually meanwhile Nancy was staring at the gat with wide eyes. It sent her straight back to remembering the events of the year prior. She remembered what it was like in that world and recalled her time there spent with Reagan. Nancy looked over, meeting her friend's eyes. The two girls were both thinking of the same thing.

Nancy and Reagan were in the Upside Down together. They had seen the other side like Will had. Reagan's breathing started to become irregular as she felt herself panicking over the reminder of trauma. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out her inhaler, shaking it a little.

"See, the thing is, we can't seem to erase our mistake... but we can stop it from spreading. Like, it's like pulling weeds." Owens muse, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his lab coat. "But imagine for a moment if a foreign state, let's say, the Soviets... if they heard about our mistake... do you think they would even consider that a mistake?" The teenagers knew what Dr. Owens was referring to. It was still the Cold War after all.

Owens studied them,"What if they tried to replicate that?" He mentioned, immediately worrying Reagan more. "The more attention we bring to ourselves, the more... the more people like the Hollands know the truth, the more likely that scenario becomes." He pointed out. Owens looked over at the man in the protective suit with the flamethrower, knowing what he was going to do with it. "You see why I have to stop the truth from spreading too. Just– same as those weeds there." Owens pointed his finger.

"By whatever means necessary." Owens finished.

The flamethrower was ignited, burning the gate. A sound of screeching filled the air as if the gate was alive and didn't like the heat, and technically, that was pretty much what was happening.

"So, we understand each other now, don't we?" Owens asked as he moved behind the teenagers.

Reagan lifted her inhaler up to her lips. She breathed in slowly, trying to calm herself down, knowing that when she panicked she could cause an attack. Nancy eyed her, regretting asking the girl along to do this.

Owens noticed Reagan's inhaler, smiling as if he remembered something. "You know..." He began, gaining the girl's attention. The blonde lowered her inhaler and looked back at him. "I remember this kid growing up. Real nice. He had trouble breathing too. Of course, he wasn't lucky enough to have what you have." He recounted, gesturing to her inhaler.

"It was such a shame. Poor mother." He said before patting her back lightly. "Don't lose it." His words sent chills up her spine. Owens had a friendly enough voice but she couldn't help remember the institution he worked for. They would do anything to keep their secrets and Owens had made that quite clear.

She kept a tight grip on her inhaler. "I won't." She vowed, turning her head back to meet the man's eyes.

Jonathan wanted to keep his cool after leaving Hawkins Lab but he ended up in a pensive mood. When he had driven far enough away, he decided to look back at Nancy. Her purse was opened and the girl had a tape recorder in her hand. Jonathan was so worried that they would've found it in there but Nancy's idea had worked out. She replayed the recorded conversation they had with Owens, listening to it carefully.

Nancy hoped more than anything that it would be enough.

"You still want to do this?" He asked her, concerned about what her answer would be. She looked up at him, meeting Jonathan's eyes. She could tell he was worried, especially about Reagan. She would've been jealous if she didn't understand why. Reagan was the most vulnerable out of the three of them.

But she couldn't let that get in her way. "Let's burn that lab to the ground." She decided firmly. Nancy wasn't going to chicken out due to a few veiled threats. Barb had been her best friend since preschool. She was going to get the justice Barb deserved.

He frowned, knowing he was in too deep to argue with her. His gaze shifted to Reagan and Jonathan wondered if she felt the same way. "What about you?" He inquired. Nancy had looked over as well which made Reagan uncomfortable. She could tell both of them were expecting different answers from her.

She looked down at her hand, seeing that her fingers were still tightly wrapped around her inhaler. Reagan turned her head, lifting her eyes to the road. She could see they were leaving Hawkins but she knew they still had time to turn back. While Nancy was their friend and they both cared about her, Reagan knew if she were to say that she no longer wanted to go through with this, Jonathan would turn the car around right then and there. She didn't like that kind of pressure.

"Nancy's right." Reagan finally spoke up. Her voice was quiet and hesitant but Nancy still smiled at the support. Reagan placed the inhaler in her hand back into the pocket of her coat. While Reagan was more than willing to do this for Barb, she knew there was someone else she was doing this for.

Eleven. Reagan was going to do this for Eleven.

Reagan never got the chance to know her like Mike or his friends. But she kept thinking about that little girl with the shaved head in the hallway of the Byers household. Eleven knew nothing about Reagan yet she was kind enough to tell her that Will's disappearance wasn't her fault when Reagan thought that it was. Reagan remembered hugging the girl and knowing that Eleven wasn't used to it. She didn't need to say it out loud for Reagan to understand. Eleven had never received the love she deserved growing up and Reagan knew it was because of Hawkins Lab. It was because of the people who worked there.

They took that girl's childhood away from her. They took Barbara's future away from her. Things that no one could ever get back. But if they could get justice, maybe things could get better. Nancy could finally get closure for herself and for Barb's family. Reagan could finally rest knowing no other children like Eleven would come out of that laboratory.

"Let them burn." This time Reagan's voice was solid as she spoke. She was decided.

When Nancy checked her watch, she was surprised to see how late it was. She whipped her head around to study Jonathan. The boy seemed to be driving steadily, his eyes focused on the road ahead of him. Nancy blinked in a mix of emotions. "You are full of surprises." She beamed, gaining his attention. Jonathan raised his brows, looking over at her perplexed expression. He shrugged his shoulders casually like it was no big deal, and to him, it truly wasn't. "Not everyone's a morning bird, Nance." Jonathan pointed out.

She laughed sheepishly, knowing he was right. "And not everyone is a night owl." She added, remembering the third person in the car. Nancy shifted her gaze to the back seat where Reagan was sleeping. After their last stop, she had asked Nancy to switch seats with her so she could get some rest. The blonde had passed out almost immediately. Jonathan looked back, smiling fondly at his sleeping beauty.

His smile faded however and Nancy furrowed her brows at the sight. Jonathan turned his head back towards the road, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "Something wrong, Jonathan...?" Nancy was hesitant to ask. She knew he didn't quite like talking about his feelings, especially with her. He shook his head lightly,"It's nothing... it's just– this is probably the longest she slept in weeks." Jonathan remarked with a frown.

Nancy began to understand what he meant. Her eyes softened as she looked at him. "School." She put it simply like it wasn't a problem that Jonathan had been worrying about for months.

"School." He repeated, looking out at the road. Jonathan let out a low sigh before shaking his head. "I'm freaking out, Nancy." Jonathan confessed. He wouldn't have done it if Nancy wasn't a friend that he trusted or if Reagan had been awake. Nancy shook her head,"Jonathan... don't be. I mean, things are going to work out–" "Like they did between you and Steve?" His words hurt her and Jonathan knew that.

The boy didn't turn his head to look at her. He didn't want to apologize. But Jonathan knew that he probably should've. Nancy didn't say anything, looking down at her hands. She pursed her lips together, knowing that he was right. It hadn't worked out for her and Steve. She knew it wasn't because of what Jonathan was worrying about. She knew it was partly because of Jonathan.

"You're an idiot." She found herself saying. Jonathan was surprised by Nancy's comment, turning his head to look at her. The girl frowned angrily, looking up, her eyes focusing on the road. "You are. You've got someone who loves you. And you love her. Why are you so afraid?" Nancy questioned. "You don't understand." He argued but Nancy just chuckled at him. "I don't understand?" She asked him, finally turning to look at him. She raised her brows at him. "Jonathan... I'm your friend. I'm not an idiot, okay? I know. I know what you're really scared of but you can't be. You can't be scared of being happy, Jonathan." Nancy told him.

Jonathan shook his head a little,"It's not that simple." He pointed out. "Why can't it be?" She asked, trying to meet his eyes but he wasn't looking at her anymore. Jonathan shook his head again but this time it was more firm. "I really don't want to talk about this right now." He decided. "I should've never said anything." Jonathan said.

She frowned at him, disappointed that he was pulling away from her.

"No... I shouldn't have called you an idiot. I get it, Jonathan, I do. I know you don't want to lose her. I know you don't want Reagan to move away. I don't want that either. She's one of my closest friends– my best friend. I hate it as much as you do..." She found herself trailing off. Nancy turned her head, her eyes falling on the sleeping girl she was discussing. Nancy hadn't realized it until that moment how much she would miss Reagan if she went away.

A sudden sadness fell over her, enough to quiet her. Jonathan was confused at first, turning to look at her. When he saw Nancy's face he understood what she was feeling. They both didn't want to lose her but knew that eventually, they would. Reagan couldn't stay in Hawkins forever, just like they couldn't either.

"Can we stop, Jonathan?" Nancy asked him suddenly. He nodded his head to her gently, not wanting to say no to her when he could tell she was feeling fragile. Nancy gave him a small smile to thank him. "We'll stop at the next motel." He decided, knowing he couldn't drive all night. Nancy nodded her head, remaining quiet as she looked out at the road.

It wasn't long before they reached a motel. Jonathan parked the car, letting out a sigh. The boy was finally tired. He got out of the driver's seat, slamming the door behind him. He looked over at Nancy who exited the car. "I'll wake her." Jonathan informed before opening the door to the back seat. Reagan was still curled up in a blissful slumber and he almost didn't want to wake her. He knew everything she had been through over the past few days, he wanted her to sleep well. She deserved it.

But he knew he should wake her. Jonathan compromised with himself, however, reaching in and gently taking the girl into his arms. "Rea..." He spoke quietly into her ear, pulling her back into consciousness. "Hmm?" Reagan whispered, her eyes still shut as he moved his arm underneath her legs. "Come on, Rea." Jonathan said as he carried her out of the back seat.

"Jon?" She said, finally opening her eyes. Reagan met his eyes in a sleepy gaze and something in Jonathan's chest tightened. It went so tight that he felt like that part of him was going to burst. It was in that moment he was suddenly reminded of everything he felt about her. He loved her beyond anything he could put into words.

And maybe that was the problem. Words never felt enough for Jonathan.

He leaned down, pressing his forehead against hers. "Wake up, sleepy." Jonathan smirked gently at her. She groaned lightly but smiled tiredly. "Fine." She lamented, gesturing for him to set her down. He helped her back on to her feet, carefully making sure she wouldn't fall over due to her grogginess. Reagan blinked a times before rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. "Are we there?" She questioned.

"Halfway." Nancy informed, bag in hand. She had Reagan's bag as well and passed it over to the girl. "Good to see you returned to the land of the living." The brunette joked, earning a grin from the other girl. Reagan stretched out her limbs, taking her bag from Nancy. "I don't know about you guys but I feel much better." She stated. Jonathan rolled his eyes playfully,"I doubt that will last long." He joked.

Jonathan got his bag from the car and made his way over to the motel. He entered first, the two girls following behind him. He approached the front desk slowly, eyeing the woman behind it who was preoccupied with the television show she was watching. Nancy blinked, surprised that the woman hadn't noticed the three of them already. She decided to tap the bell on the desk though it did little to gain the woman's attention.

She furrowed her brows, looking at Reagan who shrugged her shoulders. "We'd like a... uh, a room." Nancy said, unsure if she was being heard or not. "We got those." The woman confirmed, her eyes still glued to the TV. "You want a single or a double?" She questioned them.

"Double." All three teenagers said at the same time. The woman slurped her drink as she turned to look at the three of them. Reagan furrowed her brows, confused by the look the woman was giving them. Luckily, Reagan was often too naive to piece together what the woman had been suggesting with a mere gaze.

Once they had their rooming sorted out, Reagan took the keys for safe keeping. She unlocked the door to their room, hardly impressed by the sight. Nancy wasn't all that impressed either with the room. Jonathan looked around, finding it to be rather decent. He could tell that despite the lack of high quality, there didn't seem to be any bugs which he took as a good sign.

He looked over at Reagan,"You're not going to start cleaning, are you?" Jonathan joked, noticing her demeanor. She looked back at him and scoffed. "What– no! Me? I– I wouldn't do that." She dismissed with a loud laugh, smiling to cover up the ring of truth in his joke. She had been fortunate enough to travel as a young child and Steve could vouch that she had been known to clean a hotel room in the past.

But she tried to remember that it wasn't that bad. Besides, Jonathan seemed comfortable and Reagan trusted his judgment.

"Dibs on the bathroom?" Nancy asked them as she set down her bag on one of the beds, opening it to produce her nightgown. Jonathan looked at Reagan who nodded her head and then looked back at Nancy. "Go ahead." He told her, allowing the girl to move past him towards the bathroom. Nancy locked herself inside, leaving the two of them alone.

As soon as the sound of the shower came on, Jonathan let out a low sigh. He thought of his conversation with Nancy. Reagan went to sit down on the bed, kicking off her shoes. She breathed in and out, staring at the wall. Jonathan moved over to the bed, sitting on the other side. He reached out his hand, deciding to take hers. She was quick to move her hand away much to his surprise.

Reagan blinked, not realizing she rejected his touch until she met his eyes. "I–" She was in shock, knowing she had never done that to him before. "I'm sorry." Reagan whispered. "I was thinking about–" "Billy?" Jonathan swallowed a harsh lump in his throat. He felt like it was his fault. He had left her alone after all. Jonathan should've known better, especially after the way Billy had treated her in the hallway at school.

"It's– I'm sorry. It's like it's in the back of my head... and just when I think it's gone– it's back. Like I'm back there... on that bed, feeling sorry for myself and realizing how stupid I was to let him help me–" She cut herself off as soon as Jonathan reached out to her, placing his hand on the back of her neck. "It wasn't your fault." He insisted. "No– I– I just let him take me to that room–" Reagan argued but Jonathan shook his head.

He stared into her eyes,"It was never once your fault. I... I should've been there. I shouldn't have left you alone. If Carol hadn't been there..." Jonathan lowered his gaze and he shook his head again. He moved his hand away,"It's my fault." He said quietly. Reagan looked at him before shaking her head. "No. It's Billy's fault. He's an asshole." She pointed out, trying to laugh it off with a halfhearted chuckle.

But it didn't work. She could tell that Jonathan was taking the blame for what happened on Halloween.

She wanted to make him feel better but he wasn't even looking at her anymore. Reagan moved onto her knees, wrapping her arms around him from behind. She kissed his neck gently before leaning her head on his shoulder. "Have I ever told you how lucky I am to have you?" Reagan told him. "You're my best friend. You're my boyfriend. You're my favorite person in the entire world. In the entire universe." She continued. Jonathan smiled small, turning his head to face her. He leaned in, kissing her gently. "You're pretty great too." He whispered, smirking as Reagan pulled away.

"Ha. Ha." She said, leaning back on the bed. Jonathan moved over to her, climbing on top of her. "You're pretty much my favorite person in the entire universe too." He told her, lifting his hand to brush away a few locks of her hair. Reagan smiled up at him gently. "Good. I was worried there for a second." She joked light.

"Don't be." Jonathan whispered, leaning in to kiss her again.

The shower turned off and Nancy stepped out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel. She cringed slightly over at her two friends making out. "Seriously? I leave the room for ten minutes." She sighed, moving over to grab her pajamas from her bag. Jonathan moved away from Reagan, clearly embarrassed. While he tended to be very affectionate, Jonathan never liked it when he and Reagan had an audience. Reagan chuckled a little,"Sorry." She told her.

Nancy smirked before shaking her head,"I get it. As long as you two aren't jumping each other's bones when I'm back." She requested, walking back into the bathroom with her change of clothes. Jonathan waited until the door was shut before groaning. He buried his face in a pillow,"Why does this always happen?" He lamented. Reagan laughed,"Because we're teenagers? I'm sure we'll get all the privacy we need in the future." She pointed out, getting off the bed.

She opened her bag, deciding to change. Jonathan moved his head, watching her as she took her pajamas out of her bag. "The future?" He asked her. Reagan looked at him, almost scared she said something wrong. "Yeah." She brushed it off. Jonathan smiled as she turned around to change,"You really think of us living together one day?" The boy questioned. Reagan shrugged her shoulders,"One day." She kept her response short, terrified of freaking him out. But Jonathan seemed to like the idea.

When Nancy came back out of the bathroom, she was dressed for bed. She looked over at her two friends to see they have dressed for bed also. She let out a breath of relief,"Thank God." She whispered to herself as she moved over to her bed. "Let's call it a night, shall we?" Nancy decided as she moved over the covers and climbed into the bed. Reagan frowned a little, knowing her nap had made her less exhausted than the other two. But she didn't want to stop Jonathan or Nancy from getting a good night's sleep.

"Nance... uh, on or off?" Jonathan said, referring to the switch once he was in bed. Nancy looked over at him, grinning a little at the familiarity of it. He blinked, a little confused. "What?" He asked her. "Nothing." She said, a little embarrassed. "Just... déjà vu." She admitted.

He chuckled a little, remembering. "Yeah." He agreed. Reagan watched the moment the two of them shared, feeling like she almost wasn't there in that motel room or when that actually happened.

"Don't you think it's weird?" Nancy asked them. "What?" Jonathan said. "How the three of us only seem to hang out when the world's about to end?" She shrugged. Reagan furrowed her brows,"It's not going to end." She pointed out. Nancy let out a low breath,"Feels like it." The girl sighed, holding her elbows.

She was struck with an idea and leaned over the table separating the two beds. "Still have yours?" Nancy smirked at the two. Jonathan grinned as he leaned over. "Yeah." He replied, showing his hand. Reagan leaned over her boyfriend, reaching for the table. She chuckled as she laid her palm for them to see but her smile faded when she realized something.

"Oh, mine's bigger." Nancy mused. Jonathan laughed at how happy she sounded,"Congratulations." He told her. "Thanks." Nancy smiled. Reagan stared at her hand,"Mine's the smallest." She closed her hand into a fist, moving it away.

Nancy realized what she was doing when she looked over at Reagan. The brunette frowned, hiding her gaze from Jonathan so he wouldn't pick up on anything. She moved her hand away, lying back down on her bed. Nancy gripped the pillow,"What happened?" She wondered out loud.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes at Nancy, not noticing his girlfriend's expression as she moved to lay back down next to him. "What do you mean?" He asked Nancy. "To us?" Nancy clarified, meeting his eyes. It was suddenly clear to him she was talking to him. "After everything, you just... disappeared." She confessed.

"Will needed me. And Reagan–" He stopped as he looked at her. Jonathan frowned,"You know, you and I were never–"

"Friends?"

Her question silenced him. Nancy rolled over, facing away from him. "I want them off." Nancy declared, making Jonathan's heart lower. He didn't mean to offend her by suggesting that they were never friends. He shook his head, turning off the lights and turning over to face Reagan.

She had her eyes closed, making Jonathan believe that she had drifted off while he and Nancy were talking. He didn't realize she was faking it. He shut his eyes, deciding to go to sleep as well. Reagan waited until enough time had passed to open her eyes. She turned her head, recognizing her boyfriend's sleepy face.

Reagan laid in bed, thinking to herself before it all became too much for her. She slipped out of the covers and moved over to her bag, grabbing her slippers and her robe. She got the slippers onto her feet before putting on her robe.

It was a bad idea to leave the room by herself. They were all far from home and in an unfamiliar place. But she decided to leave anyway. She made sure to take one set of the room keys with her just in case. Reagan wrapped her arms around herself as she wandered the deserted hallways. It was too late at night for anyone to be up and yet there she was.

Unable to sleep.

"Reagan?" She blinked at the sound of her name and looked around to see if anyone was there. Her heart stopped at the sight of her best friend. "You scared me half to death, Nance." Reagan snapped at her, not meaning to sound so harsh.

Nancy frowned at her,"You left." She pointed out. Reagan crossed her arms over her chest,"Well, I didn't think you were awake. I'm sorry if I woke you." She pushed past her, moving down the hall. Nancy noticed quickly that she was heading towards the exit.

"Where are you going? Reagan!" Nancy called after her. She pursued Reagan, trying to catch up with the girl. "Getting some air!" Reagan answered as she pushed open the doors. Cold air hit her face as she stepped out into the night. She blinked and lowered her head, breathing heavily.

Reagan stopped, making it easier for Nancy to catch up with her. The brunette settled besides her best friend, furrowing her brows at her. "What in the hell are you thinking?" Nancy questioned, whipping her head around. "It's freezing out here!" She pointed out. "Well, I wasn't, okay?" Reagan said simply. "Wasn't what?" Nancy asked. "Thinking." Reagan frowned as she began walking away again.

"Reagan! Reagan, get back here!" Nancy yelled at her as Reagan refused to turn around. Nancy ran and grabbed the girl's shoulder, forcing her to turn around to face her. "What do you want, Nancy! Do you want my boyfriend, is that it? Because that's what it feels like. And if it isn't– do you want Barbara back? Do you want her back opposed to me?" She asked and Nancy was surprised at the tears that had come up in Reagan's eyes.

She shook her head, lowering her gaze. "I want Barb back more than anything." Nancy whispered sadly. "But that's never going to happen. Though just because I want my best friend back doesn't mean that you're not my best friend, Reagan. You are. I promise that you are. And you know that I would never do anything to get in between you and Jonathan, right? I would never. You two love each other and even if you weren't together that wouldn't change anything. You have to trust me on that, don't you? Please... just come back inside." She begged.

Her eyes met Reagan's and she could see how hurt she was. Nancy reached out and grabbed her friend's hand. She gave Reagan a tight squeeze, desperate for her to no longer be angry with her. "Say you'll come back inside?" Nancy asked. Reagan nodded her head slowly.

Nancy led Reagan back inside the motel where they both warmed up. She let go of Reagan's hand, studying as the blonde averted her gaze. "Are you okay now?" She questioned, trying to sound gentle but she sounded more concerned than anything. Reagan sighed, looking over at Nancy. "It's just–" She let out another breath before continuing.

"The last time all three of us were together was when we were hunting a big scary monster." She began. "I know we aren't now but... but it feels like the same thing. And I feel just as unprepared as I was then and I really hate feeling unprepared. I really hate feeling like I'm weaker than you and Jonathan. And I am. I'm the weakest out of the three of us." Reagan shook her head, not wanting to continue.

"You're the strongest." Nancy argued which made Reagan laugh bitterly. "Please, Nance, we all know that it's you." Reagan pointed out.

"No... no, it's not. I like to think that it is me but it's not. You are by far the kindest, bravest and strongest person that I know. Last year, you were terrified but you stuck with us anyways. No one was more afraid to fight than you. But you did anyway. You fought. And while you might think that being afraid makes you weaker, it doesn't. Trust me when I say that it doesn't." Nancy was desperately trying to convince her of this and it seemed like it was working.

Reagan smiled small at her. "I do trust you." She mentioned, making Nancy laugh. A few tears had made their way to her eyes and Nancy hugged Reagan before the other girl could notice them. "You are my best friend, you know that? You are. I know I don't say it often but... I just really hate the idea of... moving on." Nancy whispered, thinking about Barb.

The two of them remained in that hug for a while. Reagan smoothed down Nancy's hair,"I know you miss her. I'm sorry about what happened to her." She said quietly. Nancy nodded and pulled away. "Do you think... do you think you can sleep in my bed tonight with me? It's okay if you want to stay with Jonathan, I get it... I just really could use a friend right now." Nancy felt terrible for asking anything of Reagan after the way she made her feel but she knew she needed Reagan to be there for her, as selfish as that way.

But being the most selfless person that Nancy knew, Reagan nodded her head with a soft smile. "Of course. Whatever you need." Reagan assured her. Nancy let out a breath of relief and pulled her back into a hug. "Thank you." Nancy whispered as she closed her eyes, thinking about her conversation in that car with Jonathan. She would really miss Reagan when it was time for her to go off to a college or university.