the other woman! - 𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐨 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭

"You need that tape, Byers? Mine is running out." Monica asked while holding a handful of missing signs posters with Will Byers's innocent face plastered over it. They stood next to the bulletin board close to the exit of Hawkins High while everyone else was in their own classes for 5th period for the last few minutes. Monica was on her free period, deciding to help Jonathan hang up these posters to make him less lonely during the worst time of his life. Well, that and not having to sit through Nancy's boyfriend, Steve Harrington, and his greasy hair's bullshit for an extra hour. At this time, she wanted the distraction and the reality of Will Byers was the biggest one. A big terrifying one.

Jonathan pushed the clear tape against the paper on the bulletin board before responding, "Sure. Let me take it." He held out his hand after giving her his tape. She places the Scott Tape in the palm of his hand and walks over the wall across the bulletin board to hang up another poster. She had so much she wanted to say to him. How much she wanted to say sorry to him. About everything. But she questioned if it would help him in the long run. He wouldn't even allow her to pity him as if everything was normal. And it wasn't. At least not anymore.

"How many posters did you print out? We've been doing this for, it feel like, a decade." Monica tries to joke to lighten his mood. He made a small chuckle. "The only reason why is because you decided to complain about walking the whole time."

Monica scoffs as she hangs up a poster near another classroom door on the white brick wall, seeming to be a chemistry class. She turns to him, saying, "Jeez, is it a crime to not like walking?"

"No, but it's a crime to complain about it like it's a midlife crisis." He hung up another poster in the process as Monica walked by his side. "You really like to complain a lot don't you?"

She rolls her eyes, hitting his shoulder playfully. "I like to call it expressing myself. Try it sometimes. Maybe then you won't grow gray hairs at sixteen."

"You wish." He gave her a little smirk as he went to grab more posters. Monica was struck at the handful of papers that Jonathan held in his hand from his brown, used bag that he had for a while. She failed to predict that they would make that many. As if they were going to hang that poster for the whole world to see. Even so, Monica absolutely didn't blame them in the slightest. Will Byers needed to be found.

Monica lowered her smile as Jonathan walked back to a different area in the same hallway that was close enough from where Monica stood. "How many copies did your mom actually print out?"

"Around 250 copies. Why?"

"How is she holding up? With all of this?" Monica was right next to him when asking him this pressing question. It sort of felt like she already knew that the answer wasn't going to be that great.

Jonathan took a long pause when trying to compose the 'right' answer to give and hung yet another poster. "She thinks... She thinks he's talking to her... through the lights. I have never seen her like this. Not sleeping at night, all riled up. It's... it's tough."

"And how are you?" Monica looked at him, deeply concerned with his sudden change of tone.

"It feels... it's like I'm in a nightmare that I can't get out of. It could be worse. Lonnie could be here but I'm happy he isn't." Jonathan pauses to stop himself to refrain from blaming himself since he already heard that speech of how it "wasn't your fault" since it still felt deeply like it. Like someone doesn't want to tell the truth. "What I want... I just want this all to end. With Will alive..." Hopefully... that he wanted to say next but wasn't willing to speak it into existence.