Lately, the small town of Hawkins was receiving a name for itself for all things suspicious. Julia, a student at Hawkins high, a face in the crowd, class loner and mystery, starts to hang out with the class outsider and together they find out that...
We all stood in silence as we watched Chief Hopper come into the Byers' house and start unscrewing lights and looking under couch cushions. Nobody said a word, but we were all confused and a little scared not knowing what was going on. I felt Jonathan reach down and grab my hand, but I didn't take my eyes off Hopper and I don't think he did either. Hopper sat down in Mrs. Byers' chair and breathed a big sigh of relief.
"It should be okay. I can't promise anything, but I think we're okay." He said.
"What the hell is going on, Hopper?" Mrs. Byers rightfully asked.
"They bugged my place. They put a microphone in my light. It's because I'm on to them and they know it. I thought they would be watching you too." Jonathan and I looked at each other in confusion, as we watched Chief Hopper and Mrs. Byers go back and forth.
"Who?" Mrs. Byers crossed her arms.
"I don't know. The CIA, the NSA, the Department of Energy, I don't know." Chief Hopper was out of breath from all the panicking he was doing.
"You got to explain this to me." Mrs. Byers demanded him what we all wanted from him.
"I went to the morgue last night, Joyce."
"What?" It became dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. Mrs. Byers couldn't believe her ears and we couldn't either.
"It's not him. Will's body, it was a fake. You were right this whole time." Jonathan ran back into his room and I followed him.
"Jonathan. I came here to tell you that I went over to Mike Wheeler's house and he introduced me to this girl named Eleven who knew Will was missing without ever meeting him or seeing him before. She knows about the monster and the other dimension where Will could be and I think she can help us."
Jonathan was sitting on his bed the whole time. He didn't look at me or say anything to me and I was started to get pissed. I was trying so hard to find Will. I was spending all my time and energy on this whole situation while lately Jonathan had barely acknowledged me.
"You know how crazy that sounds Julia? A girl named Eleven who knows about the monster and another dimension?" He was getting angry.
I saw the ripped pieces of the pictures from the night in the woods on Jonathan's desk. I walked over and grabbed them placing them on his bed, trying to rearrange the one of Barb sitting on the diving board.
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"And you don't think THIS is crazy?" He looked over at the picture of the monster standing behind Barb. I was starting to get frustrated.
"Please don't shut me out. Please don't give up on this Jonathan. We have spent so much time and energy on this. We have put blood and tears into trying to find your brother and now your shutting down when we are finally getting somewhere. You act like your alone and you're not. You're not alone." I meant this from the heart and all I wanted was Jonathan to keep going and not give up on this and what we had fought for. I waited for a response, although I wasn't expecting one.
"I know." He said. I sat next to him on his bed and looked at him as he looked at the ground.
"I'm here. I'll always be here for you." I told him and I meant that too.
"Julia?" He asked.
"Yeah?" I could feel him inching his head closer and closer to mine. I started to close my eyes when I felt our foreheads and noses touching. Before I realized what was happening, it happened. Our lips touched and enfolded one another's. The kiss was quick, but gentle and sweet. We let our heads and noses continue touching each other, even though our lips were apart.
"Thank you, for everything." He told me. I nodded, ensuring him that I was okay and that it was worth it. I rubbed his cheek with my thumb.
"Just so you know, I want to kill the monster too." I told him, referring to what he told me at the funeral. "But I think you should come to Mike Wheeler's house with me soon and we can hear him out." Jonathan nodded his head and agreed.
Jonathan and I tapped up the picture of Barb and I told him that I offered the boys a look at the picture in exchange of me being allowed to tell him about Eleven. He asked a lot of questions that I didn't have the answers too, but I told him that I was confident in Mike and Eleven in being able to help us. I told him that he couldn't tell his mother about everything just yet, because we needed more proof or at least a more plausible theory that made some sense.
Jonathan and I hung out for the night at his house. Chief Hopper left and Mrs. Byers stayed in her room most of the night, probably trying to process this new information. We talked about music, listened to endless mix tapes that Jonathan had made, and just laughed. We had a good time and nothing sad came up in our conversations for once.
At eleven o'clock, I told Jonathan that I needed to be get home. He told me he would drop me off, so we got in his car and drove to my house. This time, I noticed my dad's truck was in the driveway upon our arrival.
"My dad's not usually home this early." I looked over at Jonathan nervously.
"I'm sure it's nothing." He reassured me. "Go inside and I'll stay here. If everything is okay, go up into your room and turn your light off and on again three times and I'll leave. If something is up and you need me, I'll wait five minutes and if I don't see a flash I'll come in. Okay?"
I shut the car door as I left, agreeing to Jonathan's plan. This was weird. My dad worked way into the night and all of the day. I swear, I almost never saw the man, especially on a weekday night.
I opened the front door with my key and stepped inside. It was dark. No lights were on so I thought maybe my dad was asleep, but before I could blink a glass bottle was thrown and hit the wall next to me.
"Why are you home so late? It's a school night!" My dad stumbled into the living room with another bottle of seemed to be rum, drunk as a skunk. My dad never talked to me drunk before.
"I'm sorry." I told him, just wanting to go upstairs to relieve Jonathan.
"Sorry isn't good enough. You have to be home." My dad stepped closer and closer to me. I could smell the alcohol.
"I'm sorry dad. I was with a friend."
"Who? Jonathan Byers?" I nodded my head.
"You're disgusting. You're just like your mother. A stupid slut." I started to cry from the impact I felt from the words I just heard. My dad was so nasty when he was drunk.
My dad was inches away from my face when he backed me into a wall. He spewed more insults at me like "ugly", "loser", and "bitch". Suddenly, the door opened and it was Jonathan.
"Julia, are you okay?" He asked, closing the door behind him.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" My dad screamed. "You got your boyfriend over here now."
Jonathan didn't say a word. He just grabbed onto my arm, slowly backing me away from my father. My dad was getting angrier and angrier by the second and he showed it. Jonathan was about to open the door again, when my dad threw his other bottle on the wall above us. It started to rain glass shards as I buried my head and face under my arms. Jonathan grabbed me by the arm and waist and quickly opened the door, pushing me out of it.
**Thank you guys for the support! 1.8K.. CRAZY. FYI, in no way, shape, or form am I trying to romanticize alcohol abuse or any abuse for that matter. If you or anyone you know suffers from alcohol addition there are people out there that can help. This is just a story and this is just used for dramatics and plot line purposes**
