Shared trauma makes the ships go 'round. (Nancy x Jonathan)

I'm Here

Nancy stood in the shower letting all of the dirt and grime wash off her body. On any other day she would relax, feeling the warm water run from her hair to her feet.

She turned to face the shower head. If it were any other day she wouldn't be this dirty. If it were any other day, she would be able to relax. But it's not any other day. Can any other day happen after today? Images of what she saw flash through her mind. How can anyone go back to normal after that?

Her hands push her hair back as she struggles to keep her panic down. She can still hear the screeches of that horrible monster. She could've died. Her breathing speeds up, her chest tightens and her anxiety rises. She feels like she's there again. Running away as fast as possible from that /thing/. It took Barb. Maybe even killed her. It could've killed her too.

   Nancy's about to give in to her anxiety when she hears a noise from the other room. It pulls her attention from her racing thoughts.

   Oh, Jonathan's here.

   And just like that, her breathing slows. She doesn't have to panic, she's not alone. It's amazing  that knowing someone is right there, right within reach, can make such a huge difference. He makes her feel safe. He pulled her out of that place she had found herself lost in. If he's there, she'll be ok. There's someone who knows exactly what happened and will believe her even when what she says makes her sound like a lunatic.

   She slows her breathing, trying to calm her still rapidly beating heart and steps out of the shower.

   Nancy walks in to her room and closes the door softly. When she turns around, Jonathan is looking up at her from the floor where he's laying out a makeshift bed.

   "Better?" He asks.

   She rubs the back of her neck before answering, "yeah." She brings her arms down to cross them. The silence in the room feels more awkward than it did before.

   Jonathan glances down nervously to the blanket he layer out on the floor. "Is this ok? Uh, I found it in the closet," he stands up. An oddly weird pause fills the air before he continues, "I can go home, I just figured-"

   "Yeah yeah no no, uh, I uh, I don't wanna be alone." She doesn't know what she would do if he wasn't there to keep her thoughts at bay. Being alone would feel the same as a death sentence. 

   He lets out a breathe of relief and nods.

   "Do you-"

   "No, uh no" he looks to the ground.

   Another silence falls into the room as they both settle into their own beds. Nancy turns to the side and tries to settle her mind. Her attempts are in vein as she starts to loose control of her thoughts once again. She breathes in and out. She can't do this. She knows she can't. It's so quiet. Then she thinks about Jonathan. He's right there at the end of her bed. Why doesn't he just sleep with her?

She sits there for a few seconds, battling herself over wether or not she should ask him to get in her bed. Eventually she decides she'd rather feel awkward than send herself into a full on panic attack.

   "Can you just come up here?" She calls out to the bottom of her bed. She hears nothing and for a split second she's afraid he's ignoring her in favor of pretending to be asleep. Then she hears the rustling of sheets and a small "yeah."

   Jonathan climbs in bed next to her. After a few seconds he asks "do you want the lights off or"

   "On," she interrupts.

   "Yeah," he lets out a shaky breath and continues, "ya know, it can't get us in here."

   She thinks about it. He might be right but then again, "we don't know that."