so close, yet so far // jancy

Chapter 2

Nancy rounded the last corner before Jonathan's house. It was the first place she thought of to look for him.

Maybe he just overslept? Quit worrying so much.

As she began coming into the drive way, she heard screaming inside of the Byers' house. Nancy dropped her bag, and she rushed up the steps, bursting into the door. Her eyes met a tired-looking Jonathan and a frantic Joyce. Will was laying down on the floor, whimpering and talking quietly.

"Oh my god what's..."

Jonathan cut her off by grabbing her arm and leading her outside.

"Nancy, what are you doing here? You need to leave."

Nancy stood agape.

"What? What's going on? Why didn't you pick me up for school? I had to walk! Why didn't you call me and say you couldn't pick me up? It would have saved me a lot of trouble!"

She immediately regretted what she said; it sounded far beyond selfish. She had meant to say that she was worried about him, but her frustration got the best of her.

Jonathan glared at her. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to pick you up, okay? But my brother needs me right now! You may be my girlfriend, but you're not the only person in my life."

"You could have just called! Just a simple call, and I would never be mad."

"I know. I should have called. But I can't go back into the past and change it. But right now, here in the present, I can't worry about you right now. Will and my mom need me here. So please, Nancy, leave."

She shoved past him and jogged off. Jonathan watched her run off, and he felt himself biting back tears. This was their first real argument since they've been together. He shook it off, deciding to suck it up for Will and Joyce; they needed him to be sane. He was the anchor of the Byers' family right now, and Nancy was bringing him closer to the surface. He told himself to forget about Nancy, just for a while until he pulled his family back together.

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Nancy speed walked down the road; she wasn't too sure where. School was the last place she wanted to be, and she couldn't go home. She glanced into the woods, to the right of her. She did know that she just needed to think, in a quiet place away from cars rushing past.

Without thinking much, Nancy went into the woods, and walked straight back until she saw the perfect tree. She smiled at it softly; it was a great place to be until she could clear her head.

She put her bag on one of the branches, letting it hang above the ground by a few inches. She easily climbed into the tree, and she sat down; her feet swinging above the ground.

The tree was an oak, so its branches were strong and sturdy. Oaks were scarce among the mostly pine forest.

There was a dip in the branch Nancy was sitting in, so she easily lay down. She felt her eyelids getting heavy, but she forced herself to stay awake. Her head began rushing with thoughts.

I shouldn't have acted so selfish. I didn't even ask if Will was okay! I was too caught up about him not picking me up. I've got to apologize to him. Not now, but soon. He's right; he needs to be with Will and Joyce right now. I can wait.

Nancy drifted off into a peaceful sleep, with no other thoughts in her head.

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sorry this was such a short chapter lmao but i hope you're enjoying this book so far! thanks for reading ;)