Disclaimer: I own everything. Freddy, Pinhead, Nancy, and Kirsty belong to me! Ha-ha-ha! Nah, I wish. I don't own anything. Once again, I'm writing this in my university's library. If people are peeking at my computer screen, they'll think I'm nuts. Oh well, maybe I am.

Chapter 3

"My apartment's upstairs," Nancy told Kirsty over her shoulder as they ascended the stairs. "I was surprised to get it so cheap, actually – there's more than enough room for two. I guess who ever lived here just wanted to get out."

"I know how that is," Kirsty muttered under her breath. She'd sold her father's house to the first bidder – she didn't care that the price was too low; she just wanted to disconnect herself from it as quickly as possible. Nancy looked at her quizzically but didn't say anything further. The stairs ended abruptly, leading to a short hallway, two doors on each side. Nancy pulled out a key and unlocked the far door to the right and pushed open the door. "After you."

Kirsty entered warily, perpetually cautious whenever she entered new surroundings. It was one of the many scars her encounter with them had left her with. "Wow," she gasped, despite herself. The apartment was wide and airy, numerous windows allowing a generous amount of sunlight to spill in. "This is the main room, I guess," Nancy said from beside her. "The stove and fridge are over there – the kitchen table isn't very big, but we can always get a new one… television area is there, and down that hallway are the bedrooms and washroom."

Kirsty turned to Nancy, a rare smile on her face. "It's quite impressive."

Nancy beamed. "It'll be nice to have some company, if you decide to take it, of course." Just then, an extremely fuzzy cat strolled out from under the couch, blinking its pale blue eyes and meowing plaintively. "This is Edgar," Nancy laughed, scooping the cat up and hugging him against her. "Oh, you don't mind cats, do you?"

"No, I like them fine." Kirsty scratched the cat's ears and he closed his eyes, purring. She liked animals well enough, not loving or hating them. "You're allowed pets here?"

She made a face. "Well… not exactly. But Edgar's a good kitty. No one even knows he's here." Suddenly, Nancy's eyes fell on Kirsty's wounded arm. "What happened?"

"Oh." Kirsty looked down, gingerly unwinding her jacket from around her arm. Splotches of blood stained it, but at least the cut had stopped bleeding. "I – uh – cut myself when I was getting my luggage," she lied. All I need is for my new roommate to think I'm a nutter in our first five minutes of meeting. Everyone knows dreams can't hurt you… she wouldn't believe me.

Something strange flickered in Nancy's eyes, like distant recognition, but it was quickly replaced by concern. "Ouch. Well, there's a first aid kit in the bathroom. Wait just a minute." She deposited the cat on the floor and disappeared into the hallway. Kirsty took the time to study the apartment again. It was no palace, but it was a hell of a lot better than most she'd seen, and the price was unbeatable. "Looks like I'm sold," she murmured to herself, smiling. "Nancy's right. It will be nice to have some company." She felt a pang in her stomach as she thought of Tiffany, the girl who had braved her second encounter with them with her. They'd gotten to her… somehow, she still couldn't figure out how. It made Kirsty feel even more alone, like the sole survivor of a massacre, isolated and carefully avoided.

"Here we go." Nancy re-appeared, a metal box clutched in her arms. "Disinfectant… and bandages."

"Thanks." Kirsty winced as she dabbed the cut with the disinfectant, then wrapped the bandages tightly around her arm. "So… I think I've made my decision. I'd like to accept your offer."

Nancy smiled. "That's great! Um, rent is due every month… you could just give it to me, and I'll pass it to the landlord, or you could pay directly to him, if you want." She shrugged. "He wants a down payment of $600 right now."

Kirsty didn't want to seem rude, but she didn't think giving a girl she'd just met money was a great idea. "No offense, of course – but I think it'd be best to pay the landlord for now. Not that I don't… I mean…" she trailed off awkwardly, but Nancy simply laughed. "I don't mind. I'd do the same anyway. The landlord, his name is Elliot; he lives in the place across from me." She rolled her eyes. "I know, I know."

"Well, I'll just go pay him now." Kirsty released her grip on her luggage and dug around for her wallet. "Be right back."

Nancy sat down on the couch once Kirsty had left, and Edgar hopped up beside her, purring. "It'll be nice to have some company, hmm, boy?" she murmured, stroking him. "Kirsty seems nice. I hope she won't mind having an insomniac as a roommate." The girl's cut still troubled her, but it brought up memories she'd long ago buried, so she refused to think about it. "Just a cut, Nancy. Nothing more, nothing less." Suddenly, she groaned, bringing her palm to her forehead. "Damn it. I forgot to tell Kirsty about Daddy… he's prone to call at all hours of the night. Damn it." She gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"Nancy."

Her head snapped to the side, facing the windows. "Jesus, not again," she hissed. "Leave me alone, whatever you are."

"Nancy."

Against her better judgment, she stormed over to the windows and looked outside. The golden box glittered in the sunlight, as if it were trying to entrance her. "What are you?" she whispered, mostly to herself. "Oh, God, is this it? Am I really losing it?"

"We can help, Nancy. Let us in… let us help you."

Something inside her snapped. "Fuck you," she snarled. "I don't need this. I'm fine." Resolutely, she turned away from the window. I wonder what's taking Kirsty so long? Agh, I hope El isn't giving her any trouble. She decided to check, just in case. Elliot wasn't all bad, but he could be stubborn at times.

x

Kirsty clutched her wallet tightly and knocked apprehensively at the door. "Erm, hello?" She was going to call out the landlord's name, but realized she only knew his first name, and that might be rather rude, considering they'd never met. "Hello?" She knocked again.

The door swung open, catching her by surprise. The man who stood in the doorway looked disheveled, days' worth of stubble dotting his chin, his hair tousled and eyes bleary. He wore a white wife beater, revealing a strong, muscled physique and numerous tattoos on his upper arms. His jeans were tattered and torn, and he looked thoroughly annoyed at being disturbed. "Who're you?"

"Um – I'm Kirsty." She forced herself to sound confident and sure. She'd faced demons, for God's sake. Why be afraid of some surly landlord. "Nancy Thompson, one of your tenants, was looking for a roommate, and I -"

"Oh, yeah," he interrupted, looking at her with new interest. "So. You're the new roommate?"

She nodded. "I've down the down payment and everything."

"Fantastic. References?"

Kirsty fumbled in her coat pocket and pulled out a few folded pieces of paper, blushing slightly at their crumpled state. "Here." She handed him the cash and papers. He regarded them, flicking through the money, and grinned widely at her. "Well then. Welcome to the building, Kirsty." He leaned against the doorway, now showing no signs of retreating back into his apartment. "I'm Elliot, but I'm sure Nancy's told you."

"Mhm." Cocky asshole, she thought to herself bitterly. He's cute, but way too sure of himself.

"So I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

Kirsty raised her eyebrows and smirked. "Yeah, I doubt that." Before Elliot could answer, the door behind her opened and Nancy stepped out. "Oh, boy. El giving you trouble, Kirsty?"

Elliot grinned at Nancy. "Of course not, Nanc. Me, give anyone trouble?"

She rolled her eyes. "C'mon. You'd have to hit him over the head multiple times to get him to leave you alone." Kirsty smirked again before turning her back on the landlord and following Nancy into the apartment. Once the door was safely shut, Kirsty snickered. "That's the landlord?"

"I know, I know. He's a pain to live across from, but he's mostly harmless, just an ass. Everything go okay?" Kirsty shrugged. "Yeah. I guess this is my new home."

They were silent for a moment. "Did you want to go and get a coffee, get to know each other?" Nancy suggested suddenly. "Unless you wanted to stay and unpack, of course."

"No, coffee sounds great, actually." Coffee means less of a chance of sleeping… and dreaming. Great. Now I'm not safe awake OR asleep. She smiled at her new roommate. "Let's go."

x

Freddy tapped his foot impatiently, arms crossed. It felt so good to prowl dreams again, to feel slick blood on his blades… but it wasn't enough. It was like a traveler, dying of thirst, being allowed only a few drops of water. He was a killer, damn it. His instinct, within his blood and bones, was to kill. He'd been away from his children for far too long…

Suddenly, the Cenobites appeared in a haze of crackling blue electricity. Freddy glared at them. "Where the fuck've you been?" he snarled.

Pinhead regarded him coolly. "Calm yourself, Frederick. We have been doing our part, as you have yours."

"She woke up too fast," he spat furiously. "I only got a little – a sample – and I want more."

Pinhead took an angry step forward. "Kirsty belongs to us, Frederick," he hissed dangerously. "Do not forget that. Unless, of course, you would prefer that we take care of Nancy?"

Freddy glowered at them, but he stayed silent. He wanted to be the one to get Nancy, to wipe that look of triumph from her eyes, to feel her blood staining his blades. "Fine," he growled. "Fine. I'm just impatient, that's all. It's been so long since I've maimed… tortured…" he licked his lips hungrily. "Once Kirsty falls asleep again, I'll be able to make more progress. What about you, Pinboy?"

Pinhead ignored Freddy's jab. "Nancy will not ignore us for long," he said confidently. "She will be drawn to the box… and once it is close to Kirsty, her desire will be enough to call us. All Nancy will have to do is open it." He smiled cruelly, revealing rows of blackened, blood-stained teeth. "She will gladly offer us Kirsty for protection from you, Frederick. And I assure you… Kirsty will do whatever necessary to be free of us, once and for all. Once they betray each other, we will both have what we want."

Freddy smirked. "So you say. But I must confess, Pinboy, I'm a bit curious. What is it about this slut what interests you so much, hmmmm?" He cocked an eyebrow and laughed harshly.

The Cenobite returned his gaze coldly. "We will not be denied what is ours. Kirsty called us, thus she belongs to us. She managed to escape twice, through her clever bargaining and sheer luck. But her desire is still strong… and we always get what we want." His face was expressionless, like stone. "And you, Frederick? What draws to so to Miss Thompson?"

"Same as you," Freddy spat. "The bitch defeated me, banished me, and then forgot so I couldn't come back. I want revenge." He snarled angrily. "Her soul is mine."

"Indeed," Pinhead agreed softly. "Indeed."

x

Kirsty and Nancy had settled on Starbucks, the cliché of coffee houses, but addictive all the same. They managed to snatch a pair of plushy velvet couches, and sat across from each other, a small table in between. "So," Nancy started, "You're from England?"

Kirsty nodded, sipping her coffee to delay answering for a moment. "Yeah. I've moved around a lot, that's why I don't have the accent." She laughed. "I followed my father and his new bride there… I lived on my own, but it was too painful to stay after… after they died."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Kirsty shrugged. She didn't feel like expanding upon it or explaining how they'd died. "Yeah. I stuck around for a bit, trying to earn money and such, and see if I could stay… but I couldn't bear it. Then I applied to a bunch of universities overseas, and Ohio U offered me the best package… so here I am." She took a deep gulp of her drink. "What about you?"

Nancy hesitated, wondering how much of her history she should reveal. "I'm from around here… I grew up in a small town called Springwood. But after my mother died… my father sold our house and moved away. I don't speak to him much anymore." She looked down. "I spent about a year or so, uh… trying to figure out my life, you could say."

"I know how that can be."

Nancy looked at her curiously. "Yeah… my later high school years weren't the best. My friends and my… my boyfriend were murdered, then my mother… and then my father withdrew, and I was sort of alone. I had a lot to work through." She laughed. "But I figured it out, and once I had my life straight, I applied to Ohio U and got in. I'm majoring in psychology, but my focus is sleep disorders. It's something I know quite a bit about."

"Sleep disorders? Like, nightmares and such?"

She flinched slightly. "Yeah. Like nightmares and such."

Kirsty was silent for a moment. "I guess we've both been through shit, huh?"

Nancy laughed bitterly. "I guess so."

It was ironic, really, that both girls were so wary about revealing the truth to each other, not knowing that the one sitting across from the other was more likely to believe their story than anyone else. The two girls were silent for a while, mulling over their own dark secrets and what little information they had just learned about the other. Hmm… spent a year trying to figure out her life? I wonder what happened… I can relate, but my father was murdered by my stepmother and the reincarnated corpse of my uncle… and, oh yeah, murderous demons were after me.

I wonder how Kirsty's parents died… were they murdered, like my mother? Maybe she just doesn't want t to get into it.

"Nancy? Can I ask you something – kind of random?"

Nancy looked up, surprised. "Sure. What is it?"

"Well…" Kirsty paused. "You study sleep disorders and that… have you ever encountered any cases where people thought… I mean, that stuff that happened in their dreams carried over to real life?"

Something very much like fear flashed in Nancy's eyes, and her jaw tightened. "No," she said, more harshly than she'd intended. "Dreams are just dreams. They're not real."

"Okay," Kirsty said hastily, feeling she'd touched upon a nerve. "Okay. Just wondering."

Nancy exhaled heavily. "I'm sorry. I just – I used to have pretty bad nightmares, that's all."

She wasn't sure how that explained anything, but Kirsty let it pass. They were still strangers to each other, really – not the time to be pushing delicate topics. In fact, Kirsty cursed herself for even asking such a question.

"So what classes do you have?" Nancy asked, as if nothing had happened. That led to a discussion of classes, professors, and homework assignments. Since Nancy was in the start of her third year, and Kirsty was beginning second – she'd only finished a year before the incident – they didn't have any classes together, but they both agreed to meet up on campus once in a while. "I haven't got many friends," Nancy said, making a face, "but the ones I do have are pretty easygoing. I'm sure you'll fit right in – if you want," she added hastily, not wanting Kirsty to think they had to be friends just because they were roommates.

Kirsty hesitated, remembering her last true friend, Tiffany… the one she was supposed to protect. But she already liked Nancy, and felt some sort of connection between them, which probably had to do with their shared troubled pasts. "Well… that'd be nice, actually."

The two girls smiled at each other, feeling the first faint stirrings of friendship between them. There was no way they could have known that there were others, watching from the darkest corners of Hell, the monsters from their past… planning the perfect revenge.

Yup, I know it's sort of boring, but I have to get it going, you know? There needs to be time for Nancy and Kirsty to interact – and for Pinhead and Freddy to 'make progress'. It might take a bit, but it will start to get interesting, don't worry. Read and review!