{The Bathtub, Part II}

Queen blasted through the speakers of Steve's car as he and Alice drove through the streets of Hawkins toward her neighborhood. Neither of them knew what to say after the argument with Tommy and Carol.

"Thanks," Alice said, picking at her nails. "For, you know, getting my money back and standing up to them for me."

She halfheartedly waved the envelope in the air before securely zipping it into her backpack.

"No problem," Steve said. "All the things I said I should've said ages ago."

"Why were you even friends with them?" Alice asked. "I mean, they suck. They're actually terrible. And you're—"

"The worst of them all?"

"I was going to say, 'Not actually that bad.'"

"Don't lie to me, Henderson."

"No, I'm serious!" Alice said. She turned so she was facing him at an angle. "I mean, at times you're misguided, and you jump to conclusions too quickly, and you act before you think—"

"Feeling the love, Al."

"Lemme finish! You're all those things, but you're also a genuine guy. You care about people, even if you have a funny way of showing it."

Steve sighed and shook his head.

"I don't know if that's true."

"Well," Alice said, "I think so. And, for the record, I'm a phenomenal judge of character."

Steve tugged at his earlobe.

"Really?"

"Yes," Alice said. "I'm very astute."

Steve didn't say anything else, but his grip on the steering wheel loosened.

Alice hummed along to the song on the radio, and he began drumming his thumbs on the wheel.

"Hey, can I ask a question?" he blurted out as they stopped at a red light.

"Shoot."

"How did you get that money?"

Alice blanched.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Steve said quickly. "I was just curious—I mean, it did seem like a lot of money, and if you're a bank robber or something, you legally have to tell me or I'm an accessory to the crime—"

"Geez, Harrington, obviously I'm not a bank robber."

Alice noticed a small smirk on his face.

"Hey, wait," she said. "Are you...making a joke? Are we joking around right now?"

"I think we are."

"Like friends?"

"We are friends." Steve ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, I think we are. Is that okay?"

Alice tapped her chin, pretending to ponder the possibility.

"Ooh, I don't know," she said. "As much as I love the thought of my social status being elevated by being friends with King Steve, I can't get too cool...then I'll intimidate my drama friends."

Steve rolled his eyes.

"Forget I asked."

"I'm kidding!" Alice said, playfully punching Steve on the arm. "Of course we're friends. Anyone who tells Tommy to go fuck himself is a friend in my book."

Steve chuckled.

Alice's eyes drifted to the backpack in her lap.

"I'll tell you about the money if you promise not to tell anyone else."

"My lips are sealed."

Alice blew out a breath and tucked a strand of hair behind her hair.

"Okay, so it's from my birth mom."

"No way!" Steve said with a grin. "That's great! Nancy said you were trying to contact her. I guess it worked?"

"Not particularly."

Alice explained the strange interaction from the park, causing Steve to frown.

"She said all that?" he asked. "Geez. I'm sorry, that sucks."

"Whatever," Alice said, crossing her arms. "I don't need her, anyway. I have my mom. And Dustin. And Mews."

"Mews?"

"Our cat. Here's my place."

Steve pulled over outside the Henderson residence, parking and helping Alice lug her bike up the driveway.

"Thanks for the ride, Harrington," she said, leaning it against the house. "And thanks again for sticking up for me."

"No problem, Al. Thanks to you, too."

Alice scrunched her nose in confusion.

"For what?"

"For, I don't know, saying that nice stuff. Making me feel less like human garbage."

Steve avoided her gaze and instead focused on grinding the toe of his sneaker into the asphalt.

"You aren't human garbage, Mr. Good Hair," Alice said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Human garbage wouldn't have told Tommy to stuff it. You're more like a human...recyclable. Disposable, but not totally worthless."

Steve laughed. Before he could retort, he started to feel kind of warm. Where Alice was touching his shoulder, a comfortable heat spread through his arm and to his face. He noticed his cuts sting a little bit less. And he could've sworn Alice looked almost...ethereal...like she was glowing.

Alice looked at her hand in horror when she realized she was using her healing powers on Steve unintentionally. She recoiled, stuffing her hand in her jacket pocket and calling a quick, "See you!" over her shoulder. 

"Wait, Alice—"

She slammed the front door, leaving Steve alone in the yard touching his cheek and wondering what the hell had just happened.

The Henderson house was quiet, except for Mews purring on the sofa and batting a toy mouse around. Alice scratched her behind the ears on the way past, ignoring her defiant hiss.

"Dusty? You here?" she called, peering into his room. Empty.

"Mom?" No response. Everyone was still gone.

Alice shrugged and went into her room to hide the stack of money. She changed out of the dress she had worn to impress her birth mom—what a waste—and decided to call Nancy and check up on her after the situation at The Hawk. Also, there was still a supposed monster running around that she and Jonathan were trying to fight.

Alice called the Wheeler house, but there was no answer. She called again, but still nothing. She tried a third time, but the man who answered the phone was definitely not Ted Wheeler.

"Oh, sorry," Alice said. "I must have the wrong number."

Just as Alice dialed the Byers' number to talk to Jonathan, Mews leaped from her spot on the sofa and began to hiss louder than before. She scratched at the front door and paced impatiently.

"What are you doing, Mewsie?" Alice asked with a huff. "You know you're too spoiled to be an outdoor cat."

Mews continued to yowl and cause a ruckus, prompting Alice to peer out the front curtains and see what was the matter.

A white utility van was parked a little ways down the street. Completely innocuous.

"Mews, someone's just getting some work done on their house," Alice explained as if Mews could understand human language and be reasoned with. "No need to freak."

Mews hissed and scratched at Alice's leg.

"Get off me, stupid cat!"

The phone rang before Alice could wrestle into her cat carrier.

"Henderson house, this is Alice speaking."

"Alice!" Nancy said, sounding breathless. "Thank god."

"Nancy? I just tried calling your house, but a weird guy answered the phone, so I assumed it was a wrong number—"

"You have to leave your house right now."

Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Um, what?"

"Listen to her, Alice!"

Alice held the phone closer to her ear.

"Jonathan?" she said. "Is that you?"

"We can't explain it all right now," Nancy continued, "but you need to come to the Byers's house. Chief Hopper is on his way to get our brothers, Lucas, and the superpowered girl from the junkyard—"

"The junkyard?"

"These government agents are after them," Nancy said, "and Dustin said on his walkie-talkie that you're like her and they might be after you, too. You could be in danger—"

The doorbell reverberated through the house, startling Alice and causing Mews to get even more agitated.

"Okay, this is crazy," Alice said, rubbing her forehead, "but not the craziest thing that's happened to me today—or this week. Let me just see who's at the door and—"

"No!"

Alice held the phone away from her ear at Nancy's shriek. She hesitantly brought it closer.

"No?"

"Don't answer it," Nancy said urgently. "Sneak out the back door on your bike and get here soon."

"Nance, I can't—"

Click.

Alice stared at the phone in her hand, surprised that Nancy would hang up on her.

...Until peered through the peephole in the front door and saw a utility man messing with the telephone pole outside. Another utility man stood on the porch, checking his watch.

Alice's heart dropped. Nancy had mentioned government agents being after her brother and his friends—were these more of those agents? Had they somehow caught wind of Alice's powers and tracked her down? Or were they planning on interrogating her to get information on Dustin's whereabouts?

Alice slowly backed away from the front door, darting into her room to get her backpack and walkie-talkie. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she moved faster than she ever had in gym class, gathering Mews' cat carrier and loading her inside.

"C'mon, Mews," she whispered. "Let's get out of here."

Alice gripped the carrier so tightly her knuckles turned white as she slipped out of her bedroom window, thankful she lived in a ranch house. She tiptoed through the side yard, hoping she was being subtle enough not to get noticed by the—

"Hey! Get back here!"

She didn't even turn before breaking into a run down the street, heart pounding.

Alice heard the van's engine turn over, but she didn't stop to look. She just kept running, running, running.

{Edited July 7, 2020; Reposted October 23, 2024}