1. jamais vu

It's a day like any other in the Wheeler household, and Steve is hanging out with Nancy by the couch, when suddenly the doorbell rings.

Nancy quickly stood and reached for the door, and soon as she opened it, her eyes widened and mouth agape.

"Clemency?" She exclaimed as the girl gave her a huge smile, Nancy quickly hugged her sister, which startled her. As Ted and Karen went to the living room to see their two oldest reuniting. As the two backed away from the hug, they awkwardly looked at each other.

"Why are you home?" Nancy asked as Clemency looked back at her nervously, and gave her sister an awkward smile.

"Why not? And, I just have decided that I wanna study at your school." Clemency stated as Karen approached, looking at her daughter with furrowed eyebrows.

"What happened to your old school?" Karen asked, concerned, as she tried to read the worried expression on her eldest's face.

"I... got bored, and there were a lot of mean people, and it was hard to focus on studies..." She softly replied, as her dad scoffed.

"Just because of people being mean to you?" Ted says, which made her wife look over to him, with knitted eyebrows and mouth agape, then back to the girls.

"It's alright, you're my daughter, you're always welcome to come back home." Karen softly reassured Clemency gave her an awkward smile and a nod. As she walked in, her eyebrows furrowed as she saw an awkward looking Steve.

"Who's big hair dude?" She asked, still looking at Steve, from head to toe.

"That's Nancy's boyfriend, Steve Harrington. He's also studying in Hawkins High, so you'll probably be classmates-" Karen says as Clemency inhaled sharply, which caught everyone in the living room's attention.

"I... I'm still in eleventh grade, actually... same year as Nancy." Clemency says, pursing her lips as Karen tilted her head in confusion.

‧₊˚

As Clemency read in her room, she heard loud and heavy footsteps on it's way to the room next to her, startling her, so she dropped her book by the night stand and see what the commission's all about.

Clemency walked towards Nancy's room, as she saw Mike rummaging inside their sister's cabinet, and he stopped as he realized someone caught him. As looked back, eyes widened as he saw his sister, they just stared at each other awkwardly. Clemency approached Mike and closed the cabinet as she took Mike with her.

As they reached her room, she grabbed her purse, and looked back at her brother with knitted eyebrows, thinking how much she would give him, then just sighed and gave all the change she had in there.

You don't have to steal, just ask, okay?" Clemency says, as Mike looked at her, surprised, and nodded in response as he hurriedly left.

"What do you even need it for?" Clemency yelled in confusion.

"I'm going to the arcade!" Mike yelled back and he hurried down stairs, getting yelled at by their mom on his way, as Clemency scoffs.

"What just happened?" Nancy asked, confused as she was on her way to her room.

"Well, Mike almost stole from your piggy bank, but don't worry, I stopped him and I just gave the kid some coins that I have left instead." She informed as she sat back to her bed, and grabbed her book, and a flabbergasted Nancy went to her sister's room.

"That little shit..." She mumbled to herself as Clemency chuckled.

"I know!" Clemency replied, as Nancy slowly looked at her, with a questioning look.

"But wait, shouldn't you have not given him anything? I mean, he almost stole from me..." Nancy argued, sitting on the foot of her sister's bed, as Clemency sighed.

"Nancy, I have been gone for so long, I just wanted to do that little something for him." Clemency says giving her sister a soft smile.

"Why are you being so sweet?" Nancy genuinely asks as Clemency gives her a soft look, and sighed. Clemency never learned to be affectionate while in the Wheeler household because of the way their parents are. Being in another town and meeting the people she met did, and wanted to keep that positivity around with her as she got back home to Hawkins.

Clemency did not have much of a good experience in her old school, but there were still a few good ones that looked after them and cared for her, and she did the same for them in return. For the first few years, having the good reputation she had, and being nice to the ones around her, however they might have treated her, it really helped with tolerating that town, even just for a short while for Clemency.

‧₊˚

It is still quite early and it is Clemency's first day in Hawkins High. She went to school with Steve and Nancy, as she sat in the back seat of Steve's car. They stayed there for a bit as Steve asked Nancy for help in his application letter, which Clemency thought was bad but did not say anything about it, because she didn't want to offend Steve. Suddenly, a car drove by pretty fast, tires screeching, which earned a confused and grimaced look from the three as they got out of the car to see who the maniac driver was.

"Oh, they're from California." Clemency says as she sees the plate number, while Nancy looks over to her.

"They're probably new. It's my first time seeing that car here." Nancy informed as her sister slowly nodded.

As the guy driving the vehicle left, and Clemency went to her class, the girls checking the guy out turned their direction to her, furrowing their eyebrows.

"Who's the new girl?" The shortest girl asked, looking at Clemency up and down.

"I heard Wheeler has an older sister, maybe that's her?" One suggested as the short girl rolled her eyes.

"Not another Wheeler." the same girl scoffs.

‧₊˚

As Clemency sits down in class, next to her is a guy in glasses, who keeps on looking at her just like the other students, making her uncomfortable. She looked over to the guy, with a grimace on her face, and gave him an awkward smile, as his magnified eyes filled with curiosity, stared back at her.

"So, you're Nancy Wheeler's sister? Why have I not met you before? And where did you transfer from?" The guy kept asking questions, making Clemency sigh.

"Well, I am too busy to visit here... and I was just here in Roane County, but in a province far from Hawkins." Clemency awkwardly responded as the guy nodded in response.

"Oh, I'm Fred, by the way." The guy introduced himself as Clemency slowly nodded, still feeling very awkward.

Clemency's first period was tolerable, to say the least... well, ignoring her talkative, and overly curious-minded seatmate, then it definitely was quite alright.

Walking towards her locker, there she saw Nancy and Steve being all lovey-dovey, and looking at them with disgust as she opened her locker, in which Steve noticed. "You're just jealous, Clemency." He says, as Clemency closes her locker and looks back at him in disbelief, as Nancy looks at the two.

"You're just jealous..." Clemency gibberish mocked him, as Nancy furrowed her eyebrows. "Oh yea, Clemency, real mature of you." She sarcastically says, as Clemency started walking, but as she passed by Nancy, she suddenly gave her a piece of paper, startling her.

"There's a party at Tina's house later, I think you should go." She says, softly smiling at her sister, as she sighed in response. "I'll try." Clemency says and leaves.

‧₊˚

As the Wheelers, without Nancy, had dinner, Mike got scolded by their mom for almost stealing from Nancy, and had to pick out his toys for the yard sale.

Clemency just kept quiet as she listened to them talking, but looked in confusion when Karen said, "We know you've had a hard year, Michael. But we've been patient-"

She wondered what her mom meant by that. Well, she has not told anyone anything about her few years out of Hawkins, but nobody also told her what happened in those years she was away. Clemency's tempted to ask, but too scared that they would suddenly ask her about her old school.

‧₊˚

As the Halloween night came, and the kids went trick or treating, Clemency stayed in the house and stared at the invitation to the Halloween party that Nancy gave her that morning, but only Nancy left a few hours ago with Steve, and Clemency stayed at home.

Clemency's reading her book in the couch downstairs, when suddenly the door opened, as Jonathan helped out a drunk Nancy walk inside, and looked at her. Clemency furrowed her eyebrows, and nodded at Jonathan as he brought Nancy upstairs, and Clemency followed his tracks with a concerned look.

As Jonathan went back downstairs, Clemency stood up and crossed her arms, peeking up stairs, then back at Jonathan. "What happened? Where's Steve?" She asked, very confused and concerned, as Jonathan shrugged.

"I saw him storm out of the party earlier, but I don't exactly know what happened." Jonathan informed Clemency as she nodded in response, and sighed.

"I'll check up on her, please drive safely." She says as Jonathan leaves.

Clemency went to her sister's room to see her already fast asleep and tucked in bed, and sighed at the sight of her sister.

The next morning, as Nancy woke up with a head ache, she got startled by Clemency sitting beside her. "I brought breakfast and some meds for your head ache." She says as Nancy sat right up, and ate. She looked over to Clemency in confusion, and sighed.

"Do you want to ask me something..." Nancy awkwardly asked, trying to avoid her sister's gaze.

"Why did you come home with Jonathan instead of Steve last night... and why did Steve, apparently, storm out." Clemency asks as Nancy looks at her confused.

"What do you mean? I came home with Steve, that's all I could remember."

"No, you did not. I was still awake, waiting for both you and Mike to get home, and Jonathan helped you on your way here." Clemency informed.

"I should talk to Steve..." Nancy says with furrowed eyebrows, as Clemency stood up and crossed her arms.

"Well, then hurry up there, because I don't think he'll be picking us up here." Clemency said sternly as she left the room.

‧₊˚

After the fourth period, Clemency went out looking for her sister so they could go home together, but she was nowhere to be found. Then suddenly she saw Steve on his way to his car, she ran and quickly approached him, and Steve looked at her surprised, and sighed.

"Steve, I need to talk to you about something." Steve hesitates but then lets Clemency inside his car.

"What happened during the party last night, and why didn't you come home with Nancy?" Clemency says as Steve sighed, and turned to look at her.

"It's nothing..." Steve says, as Clemency's eyebrows furrowed. There is a long, awkward silence shared between them.

"Your sister doesn't love me anymore." He continued as Clemency looked over him. She could not really judge the two's relationship, given that she was not around for so long, and did not know much about their background as a couple. But Clemency could feel that something else is involved in this.

"...I think she's feeling guilty about something." Steve confessed, as Clemency tilted her head in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't tell you about it... you can get in big trouble if you get involved..." Steve says, as Clemency scoffs in disbelief.

"She's my sister, of course I wanna get involved in whatever's going on with her life, and big trouble? What do you mean by big trouble?" Clemency asked, still not understanding a single thing. Steve wanted to tell her, but it can be a big risk for her to find out, and another thing is that, even if he hated Nancy right now she would not want her mad at him for getting Clemency involved in their shit about the lab, the monsters, and the upside down. And, it's not like she would believe a thing he would say anyways. But then, Steve also knew that Clemency would eventually find out about it, so he sighed and looked at her.

"Do you know Barbara Holland?"

"Uhm, Barb? Nancy's best friend for God knows how long... who's currently missing..." She says, as she suddenly stopped, and tilted her head, putting two and two together as she looked at Steve.

"Don't tell me you guys are involved in her disappearance?" She says, as Steve inhaled sharply.

"No... well, kind of... No, we're not." He says as Clemency suspiciously looks at him.

"Wait... you are involved! And you haven't told the police anything?" She says, confused and flabbergasted.

"Okay, Clemency, listen to me." Steve sternly says as Clemency furrowed her eyebrows at him. "It's more complicated than that, like I said, if we say anything we'll get in big trouble." Steve proceeded to vaguely tell Clemency what really happened, and that Barb's already dead, and there's a laboratory involved, but he took out the details about the upside down, the monsters and eleven.

Of course, as anyone would be, Clemency did not know whether Steve was just making things up, or if he is being for real, and at the same time she is asking herself, why would Steve even joke around when he is broken-hearted after his girlfriend told him she did not love him.

"Do not let Nancy know that you know... and don't tell anyone, this is serious." Steve warned Clemency as she sighed and nodded in response.

‧₊˚

As Clemency gets home, walking upstairs, she hears Nancy having a conversation with someone, so she peeked inside and saw Jonathan as Nancy contacted someone.

"Mrs. Holland... Hi, it's, uhm... It's Nancy. I need to tell you something. Something about Barb." Nancy says as Clemency listens carefully. That is when Clemency realized how serious the whole thing is.

Why would Nancy tell Barb's mom that she was not being completely honest with her, why can she not tell the details on the phone, but Clemency's still confused, given the fact that she did not have the full details about the thing. Clemency knew she needed to know more about it, she thought that she and her family might be in big danger, and she is still completely in the dark about it. She made it her mission to find out every single detail, but she wondered how, when nobody wanted to tell her.

‧₊˚