Shadows and Monsters- A Jonathan Byers/Stranger Things fanfiction

Chapter 27: Catching Up

    Christmas break was around the corner, and I was very much looking forward to some time to myself to relax, spend time with Jonathan, and figure out where life plans on taking me. After Will was found, all of the news outlets broke the story. Nothing was released on the lab that Eleven was in, but maybe there was some P.R. business head that controlled the stories about Will. 

  I'm not going to lie, things were starting to go back to the way they were before and I didn't want that. Nancy stopped speaking to me, I started smoking more, I barely saw my dad, and Eleven was gone. She was gone and no one told me what happened to her. I thought about her all of the time and had even trouble sleeping over it. I wanted closure. She was my friend.

   I opened my eyes to my dirty room and my blaring alarm clock to suddenly realize that I was late for the bus. I ran downstairs, grabbing my telephone off of the base, and started dialing. I waited for the ringing to subside to be greeted by a raspy, half awake voice.

"You're late again?" Jonathan was very instinctive. 

"I will either have to be a hundred percent ready for the day or a hundred percent late for it." I told him, honestly.

"I'll be there with Will in about twenty." 

"Okay bye, love you."

"Love you too."

   Jonathan offered to start picking me up for school a couple times a week when he could, which made me smile. Often, Will would be there since Jonathan would bring him to school sometimes. 

   I ran back to my room, selecting random clothes to put onto my body in less then twenty minutes. Jeans, boots, a sweater, and a jacket  were my go to for the winter season. I layered everything on and ran back downstairs, waiting for Jonathan. I had some time to spare surprisingly so I made some quick Coco for the three of us. I poured on the marshmallows when I heard the car horn blare into my ears. I grabbed the three boiling cups and ran outside into the white atmosphere. The snow in Indiana this season was heavy and came in boatloads. The powerful coldness from the snow left my body frozen and weak feeling. I was always cold. I opened the car door and scooted into the front seat. 

"Hey boys." I smiled looking at two of my favorite people.

"Hi Julia. Is that Coco? Will asked.

"It is. I made some for you both." I handed the two of them cups in exchange for a thank you from Will and a kiss from Jonathan.

  We pulled onto the mushy grounded streets of the middle school, as we said goodbye to Will. It made me joyful seeing him back at school. I was watching out the window, when I saw Mike's mother drop off Mike. I smiled when I watched his eyes found mine. I waved and Mike waved back. I wanted to catch up and talk to him, but what was there to say? 

"So what do you think you want for Christmas?" I asked Jonathan fully aware of what I was getting him.

"I don't know. I'm just glad things are the way they are, I haven't given it any thought."

"I see." He knew I had something up my sleeve.

"Well what do you want?" He asked back.

"I'm not sure either. I haven't had a proper Christmas in a long time." 

   We sat in Jonathan's car in traffic. The roads were blocked up and snowed in. We were gonna be there for a good amount of time. Jonathan turned the radio on to see if we could hear some sort of update on the situation; static and commercials was all we could find however. 

"You can always come to my house." Jonathan offered.

"I might try and make plans to see my mother still, but thank you. Maybe I'll swing by afterwards." 

   I looked to Jonathan, who's eyes were on the road. He was drinking his Coco and focusing at the same time. I studied his face while I grabbed his loose hand into mine. We were getting closer and closer to school, but we were going to be late regardless. 

"Attention residences of any Northern part of Indiana. The following is an important announcement. Drivers need to stay off of the roads until plowed fully. The continuous high levels of snow are causing great lengths of danger. Please go home and stay safe. All school has been cancelled."  

**Hey guys! Thanks for bearing with me through the adjustment period of getting back into school. I know it's been a while and this chapter is short, but I needed something to start out on so bear with me ((again)). I hope you all are having a good school year as well and leave me some comments on where you think this is going and what is your least favorite class this fall? Love you all xx**