DESOLATION [ 1 ] ↠ STRANGER THINGS

8. NO FUN IN FUNERAL

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The duo walked into Hawkins High School and Colleen followed him closely behind as they made their way into the art department. They walked into the photography dark room so Jonathan could process and enlarge the photograph. But there was a girl standing in there as they walked in, and Colleen immediately noticed that it was Carol's friend. The same friend that told Steve about the pictures. Jill saw them standing together and let out a snicker before she started to walk out of the room, but Colleen grabbed ahold of her arm.

Jill tried to rip her arm free and gave Colleen a cocky look, "Colleen, I didn't place you for one to befriend the freak who stalked you. But you are all sorts of surprising, aren't ya?"

"And I didn't place you for a brown-nosed tramp, but I guess I was wrong too, huh? You should probably get scurrying back to Carol, she's probably worried that her leash broke."

Jill let out a low scoff before running out of the room, which left Colleen standing there triumphantly. She turned around with a grin to find that Jonathan had already placed the photos into the enlargement water and he had his arms crossed with a pointed look. He blew out a breath, "That was a bit harsh, wasn't it?"

Colleen shrugged her shoulders, "I won't let her talk to you like that. She was out of line."

Jonathan nodded as they stood there beside each other as the picture soaked. It was true, he appreciated that she stood up for him. But his mind just kept wandering to one question:

"Why?"

Colleen scrunched up her nose, "Why, what?"

"Why do you keep defending me, and why are you being my friend?" His voice was soft and Colleen stared up at him in confusion. "You aren't like me, Colleen. I know the type of girl that you are. The people you hang out with. You're not— You don't associate with people like me."

Colleen's mouth fell open, "People like you? What is that supposed to mean?"

Jonathan huffed out, "A freak."

Colleen shook her head angrily as his eyes moved away from her and stared desperately at the photo that was taking so long to process. It had felt like they had been in there for hours, although it was only minutes. "You are a freak. Hell, I'm a freak too. Everyone is a freak, Byers. That isn't a bad thing, okay? And for the record, I can talk to whoever I want. And I happen to like you."

His eyebrows raised at her words and Colleen quickly cleared her throat, "As a friend."

"Of course, as a friend." Jonathan nodded and shuffled on his feet, "I like you too."

They shared a small smile with each other, before focusing back down on the picture that was still processing. Colleen changed the course of the conversation after a few seconds of silence, "So have you been doing this for a while?" He looked up at her confused, "Photography?"

Jonathan nodded, "Yeah, I mean. I guess I'd rather observe people than, you know..."

"Talk to them?" She joked.

He let out a small laugh, "I know. It's weird. It's just, sometimes people don't really say what they're really thinking. But if you capture the right moment... it says more."