Legendary | s. harrington (18+)

chapter thirty five

EVELYN PACED the drive. Her bottom lip was snagged between her teeth and her feet jumped against the earth impatiently. Her breath felt short and ragged.
Jonathan's car was on the drive.
She took a deep breath, starting to get irritated with her own nerves, and rapped her knuckles against the door she had her own key for.

There was some rustling - a voice Evelyn couldn't place - and then the door opened revealing a woman, taller than Joyce, with ringlets framing her face and curious, pretty blue eyes. Her lips were pursed expectantly; and Evelyn's stomach lurched. She had not prepared for this.

"Hello." Evelyn managed, swallowing the dryness in her throat.

"Oh, hi." Nancy Wheeler said back to Evelyn, too shocked to offer any animosity, if she tried. Evelyn felt her skin prick. Nancy was surprised to see Evelyn here, when this had always been Evelyn's second home. She was furious with herself for slipping away these past few weeks - months. After last summer, everything had been a bit of a blur. She was no longer at the high school, so that stole most of her opportunities to see the boys. Evelyn had two jobs. Dustin was at camp, Mike was dating Eleven - they were growing up and leaving Evelyn behind. She swallowed again, thickly, her palms suddenly clammy. Jonathan had avoided her like the plague - or maybe she was paranoid and they'd just been unfortunate in their timings? Without Joyce here, this felt like a terrible idea all of a sudden. Weren't Hopper and Joyce supposed to be here, looking at magnets or something? Evelyn grimaced once more. She hated that she was so on edge here and more so, she hated how uncomfortable she was. And in all this time, this shared silence between them, she realised only now Nancy's eyes were wide and stuck below Evelyn's face. Eve cleared her throat, searching her brain. Had she spilled something on herself? Evelyn cursed silently, but when she looked down she realised she was still wearing Steve's T-shirt tucked into her jeans. Evelyn stilled.

"Um..." Evelyn blurted a nervous laugh, blushing in embarrassment. She could tell Nancy recognised it. Evelyn was an idiot for not changing - she'd been so happy, so distracted wrapped in Steve's arms, she'd never even thought to put her own clothes back on. Sweat built on her neck, taunting her nerves, and she looked back at Nancy with equally wide-eyes.

"Evelyn?" The voice stole her anxiety. Evelyn's head wiped to Will, dressed in a purple robe and a matching hat clutched in his hand. His wizard outfit. His eyes were puffy - he'd been crying. Evelyn's stomach jumped once more. She rushed through the door like a breeze hitting Nancy Wheeler. She ran up to Will and dropped to her knees. His smile brightened, knowing Evelyn was actually here, no tears in sight, and he fell in to her open arms. From his blatant, unrestrained affection, Evelyn did not need to look around to know the rest of his friends weren't here. But if he was dressed for Dungeons and Dragons, where was everyone?

"Hey! I missed you!" She squeezed Will tight, less afraid of him breaking than she used to be. When she pulled away, he grinned. Evelyn nibbled her lip. He looked so much older in just a month. His face was slimmer, his shoulders set, but his eyes were still young and huge and full.

"I missed you too." It was quiet and under his breath, and he looked nervously over his shoulder as if embarrassed Nancy could see them.

"Where is everyone?" She said, nodding to his outfit. Will looked at his hat, crumbled in his hands as his whole body sagged. Evelyn regretted asking, him being miserable beside her.

"They are busy."

Evelyn turned when the floorboards creaked and there was Jonathan Byers, connected at Nancy's side and the back of his hand brushed against hers when he stilled. A strange tension settled, like no one could breathe and stopped Will's conversation.
All her nightmares came back to Evelyn, one hand on Will's shoulder. All her stresses, all the strange feelings she'd been having - how Billy had ignored her and yet he looked so ill she was sure he needed to go to hospital. How Billy was shutting her out just like Jonathan did. Jonathan just disappeared from her this summer. She wanted to tell him the strange way she had even made friends with Billy Hargrove in the first place, or that he'd hurt her feelings and how she is worried about him; How she'd kissed Steve Harrington - and done much more than that, too; How the upside down still haunted her, terrified her. More than usual, like a part of her could hear the Mind Flayer was back.