Stranger Things Have Happened- Steve Harrington x OC

Search Party and Steve's Bullshit

"Stupid question, I know, but how're you holding up?" I asked, handing Joyce a plate with her sandwich on.

She took it gratefully.

"Not well," she admitted with a sigh, "I just feel so stupid. Like there was something I could've done- anything I could have done. And now my baby boy is missing and-"

She turned away slightly as she let out a tiny sob, and I reached across the table immediately to grab her hand. She squeezed it tightly as she tried to calm herself before turning back to me.

"Hopper tried to suggest he was playing hooky, but I told him no," she continued.

"That's not Will," I said, shaking my head.

Will wasn't like other kids. None of the boys were, but Will especially. The guys were happy to talk about all their comic book stuff and their D&D games at school, but Will would always be scribbling down ideas for their next campaign in the back of his notebook, or drawing up characters for his comic book, backstories and all. Will was different.

"That's what I told him," Joyce's eyes widened as she finally spoke to the first person to understand her all day, "Then he said Lonnie might have something to do with it."

My face hardened at the mention of Lonnie. I'd never really interacted with him, save the nods we shared when I'd dropped Will off a couple of times and he was sat seething after another argument with Joyce. But I knew what he was like, how he wasn't good for their family. He brought out the worst in Joyce- she was always stressed and frustrated when he was around, and both Jonathan and Will were glum, to say the least. Will had told me once how Jonathan used to come into his room and lock the door, turning the radio up to full volume to drown out the arguments in the front room. It hadn't been a great time for anyone.

"And what do you think?" I asked.

"I can't see why he would have," Joyce said, clearly baffled at the concept, "Will has next to nothing in common with Lonnie so he wouldn't have gone there, and Lonnie takes zero interest in either of the boys, so I doubt he's got anything to do with it at all."

I nodded. Just then, a door opened down the hall. I leaned back and saw Jonathan wander out of his room, shoulders slumped as he walked towards the kitchen. When he looked up and saw me, a deer-in-headlights look jumped onto his face, but it softened slightly when I sent him a supportive smile and a 'hey'.

I turned back to Joyce.

"Is it worth asking Lonnie anyway?" I asked.

She shrugged; "I guess? I wouldn't even know what to say."

"Me neither," I admitted, "But it's worth a try. Just say that Will's missing and you're just wanting to check the more obvious places he might be."

Joyce nodded with a sigh, "I'll call now," she said.

She let go of my hand and stood up to walk over to the phone. Jonathan took her place opposite me at the kitchen table.

"You okay?" I whispered as Joyce dialled Lonnie's number.

"I should've been here," he said in a small voice, eyes glued to the table, "I promised Mom that I'd be at home for when he came back, but when I got offered an extra shift at work, I reckoned we could use the money, but I never thought anything like this-"

"Jonathan, nobody thought anything like this would happen. This is Hawkins. Hawkins. Everybody knows everybody and the biggest argument that's ever been had was when Mr Glover was adamant Mr Shackleby had stolen half a dozen of his pumpkins last November. This isn't a town where bad things happen Jonathan... nobody could have expected this."