Dealing With Friends

New Friendship

Things were different now, that much was certain. Not all the changes were bad however; they found Will, his mom's mental state was much better than it had been, and the stress and grief he was forced to deal with were slowly subsiding. But not everything was great. His mom still had anxiety attacks and he stayed up until early hours hearing Will get up frequently to go into the bathroom, coughing up a lung. He'd then hear the water turn on, and Will returning to bed. Jonathan wasn't stupid and he knew something was up, but he was afraid to say anything for fear of disturbing the peace. He figured it would be short-lived, but he wanted it to stay as long as it could.

Things at school were just as they had always been, and the winter break hadn't changed that. When school started up again, he fell back into his routine: wake up, go to school, come home, do homework, spend time with his family, go to bed, repeat. To some it seemed boring, but for him it was a comfort. It was the one stable thing in his life, the one thing he could always count on. The other kids at school were weary of him, just how he liked it. He wasn't a people person and didn't do social interaction. It was better for him to be alone. Just about everyone else was annoying and immature and he'd just rather not interact with them. Who needed friends anyway?

Jonathan was walking through the parking lot after school. It had been a long day, and he couldn't be more ready for the weekend. It was only Monday yet it felt as if it had already been an entire week. He was halfway to his car when he heard his name being called out.

Wait, that couldn't be right. No one ever talked to him. Jonathan's a pretty common name, and he knew at least three other Jonathan's, so he only paused momentarily before continuing on his way.

"Beyers!"

Now Jonathan recognized the voice, and turned around to see Steve Harrington walking up to him. He didn't know what exactly to expect, so he braced himself. "Hey, can I talk to you?"

"Uhh..." Jonathan trailed off, looking longingly at his car. Steve followed his gaze and reassured him, "It'll only be a few minutes." Jonathan sighed in defeat, "Sure, what is it?"

Steve looked a bit sheepish, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. What I did was shitty, and I feel real bad about it. I meant to apologize earlier, but when I came to your house, all that... stuff, happened," he said, referring to the Demogorgon. Jonathan met his gaze.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been watching you guys, and I'm sorry I kicked your ass," his lips curled at the corners as he said the last part. Steve couldn't help but smile at that, "You just caught me off guard. Though I think we fight better as a team rather than against one another," he said seriously. Jonathan's smile was less noticeable, but still there, "Yeah, we kicked some ass, didn't we?"

Steve stared at him, "How are you, after all that?"

Jonathan inhaled deeply. He contemplated whether he should open up, or lie, or just not answer. But he was one of the only people who experienced what he did, and he had everything bottled up for so long he was sure he would explode if he kept it in any longer.

"It's been rough. But things help. I usually busy myself so that I don't think about it. Will and Mom help," he admitted.

Steve looked at him with wide eyes, "Do you have... y'know... nightmares?" His face was scrunched with fear and something else that Jonathan couldn't quite read. "Nancy and I both have them. I figured you might too. What do you do to make them go away?"

Jonathan shrugged, shaking his head. "I wish I knew but I'm about as clueless as you are. I usually wake up and stare at my ceiling counting as high as I can before falling back asleep," he supplied. Steve nodded, letting the information sink in, "I'll keep that in mind."