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"Since when are you and Nancy Wheeler friends?" Abby asked as they stood by their lockers while figuring out where to go to lunch. "Her and Steve broke up so we don't have to be friends with her anymore, you know."
Sloane just shrugged, "I don't know. She's cool. I'm not gonna let petty breakup drama influence my opinion, sometimes people just fall out of love."
"Or they were never in love in the first place," a scoff came from behind Sloane as Steve walked up to the group, "So, where are we going for lunch?"
Abby shrugged and began to ramble off their options, but Sloane had stopped listening. Nancy was standing down the hall, whispering with a boy Sloane knew by name alone as Jonathan Byers. His younger brother disappeared for a week last year and had apparently even been declared dead for a few days. According to Abby, it was the first weird thing to happen in Hawkins since the sixties. Her gaze steadied on the pair as she yearned to be able to hear what they were saying. After a moment, the pair left the hallway and Sloane panicked for a reason she had no knowledge of.
"Um, I'm not feeling too well, I think I'm just gonna head home. That cool with you guys? Okay, bye," Sloane spoke in a nervous rush, not pausing long enough for her friends to ask her any questions. She tried to walk away as quickly as she could, but Abby paced after her and caught her by the wrist, causing her to turn around.
"Hey," the girl spoke gently, "What's been up with you lately? You seem way more on edge than usual. Do you need to talk about anything?"
Sloane shook her head, doing her best to muster up a small smile to reassure her friend that she was okay, "Nah, everything's okay. Just been slipping into old habits." On the tip of the word, her head swiveled to the spot Nancy had been standing in moments before. "I'm really not feeling well, Abby."
The girl looked hesitant to let the other go, but she nodded and dropped her hand. "Okay, feel better, Sloane."
"Thanks," she managed to give a full fake smile before walking off towards the parking lot where she had seen Nancy and Jonathan walk off towards. Nancy looked surprised to see her, Jonathan even more so. "Hey, Nance, uh my friends were going somewhere nast for lunch, any chance I can just chill with you guys?"
Nancy looked taken aback by the casualty of how they spoke. Both girls refused to acknowledge what happened last night, but that didn't mean Sloane couldn't be mature about things. After a moment, she finally answered, "Uh, sure. Jonathan, this is Sloane. Sloane, Jonathan."
"Nice to meet you," Sloane smiled at him, sitting right in the middle of them. "What were you guys talking about? Looked like a bummer."
"Steve and I are officially broken up," Nancy sighed, "And I just feel..."
"Like there's this weight you're carrying around with you. All the time," Jonathan offered to fill in where Nancy drifted off. The blonde sighed, she knew that feeling well.
