Alone, No More (Harringrove)

Chapter 7//Ex-Files

"Well," Jon said, unbuckling himself, and opening his door. "Shall we?"

Nancy nodded and followed him into the school, looking around for Steve.  

He usually wasn't hard to find, what with his voluminous tower of hair, and athletic build. Steve was, in his prime, the embodiment of  confidence; he walked the halls knowing people loved, if not, respected him. 

But that day, he was no where to be found. And Nancy found her stomach twisting with the possibilities of where he was. She had to repeat Jon's words of how Steve was tough, in her mind throughout the duration of school.

Classes passed by in a blur, which was a strange occurrence for Nancy, as she loved everything about school. Yet, she found herself walking back to Jon's car, both Mike and Will in tow, with little to no information about any of her classes.

"Oy, Wheeler!" A deep voice erupted behind Nancy, making her spin on her toes, only to inhale the dank scent of smoke. She recoiled and pinched her nose, not caring if Billy, who stood mere feet away, saw. He rolled his heavily lash-lined eyes, and folded his arms over his broad chest. 

Nancy wouldn't deny that she understood why the girls in her class liked him, but she was so turned off by his attitude and his smoking habits that she could never see herself with him. Much less anyone she cared about.

"Where's Harrington?" Billy asked, a smoke hanging on his plump bottom lip. 

"Uh, I don't really know right now," Nancy admitted, looking at her shoes. Something inside her wondered why Billy even cared.

"Damn that guy," Billy huffed while raking a hand though his unruly mane. "Coach wants to talk to him"

"He's probably just at home or something," Jon suggested, nonchalantly, sneaking a protective arm  around his girlfriends waist. 

Billy saw that and snorted, spitting out his lit cigarette and squashing it with a worn out combat boot. 

"Yeah, yeah whatever," He said in a mocking tone at Jonathan, then wiped his mouth with his hand. "When yah see him, tell him coach wants tah see him".

And with that he sashayed to his car, his boots clunking beneath him, and ripped his car door open. Max, who at some point approached his car and watched, slid into his car while he did. 

The engine roared to life, then Billy whipped it out of the parking lot, leaving everyone in the dust.

"Max isn't coming to our game night," Will answered the question that no body asked. 

Nancy and Jon exchanged a quick glance, then ordered the two boys to get in the car. They sped off to Jon and Will's house with the two in the back deep, in conversation over the game. 

"Should we try calling him?" Nancy broke the silence that she and Jon laid in, while the kids played in the living room under Joyce's watch. 

She had been thinking of Steve constantly the whole day and couldn't form light conversation that didn't include her ex. Jon didn't mind, though. He was well aware of the relationship between Nancy and Steve, and it didn't bother him one bit. 

Nancy was tucked into Jon's side on his bed, and he busied himself by tracing small circles on her smooth arm. He sighed at her question, and pulled away to look at her. 

"If you want to, you can," He offered, knowing it could help her. 

After she nodded, the two got up and went to the phone hanging on the wall. A weird feeling washed over Jon as he neared the device on the wall, as it had been replaced one too many times in the past year or so. 

Nancy grasped the phone in her delicate hand then dialed the Harrington's number. She watched Jon while it rung. A beep brought her out of her trance, and with a troubled expression, hung up. 

"Well?" Jon asked, knowing full well it had gone to voice message. 

"I just don't get it," Nancy, replied, looking into Jon's eyes as though they held the secret. 

He, unfortunately, didn't know what to tell his poor girlfriend, and it made him feel frustrated. He was the protector of his family, and it felt as though he could do nothing for her. 

Empty handed, the two returned to Jon's room and plopped back down onto the bed.

"It feels weird," Nancy said out of the blue, squishing a pillow to her chest.

"What's that?" Jon asked as he played with the hem of her skirt.

"Not having anything crazy going on, you know?" she said absentmindedly, looking out the window into the night. She felt a single chuckle from her boyfriend.

"It does, doesn't it?" He agreed. Jon reveled in the thought that his mother, brother, and girlfriend were all safe under the roof of one home right now. He thanked whatever was out there that his mother had peace of mind.