"Hey," I return while Jonathan just nods at him in acknowledgment.
"What are you guys doing? It's pretty late," Lucas questions, eyeing us suspiciously.
Jonathan and I glance at each other and shrug. "Nothing," I respond.
"Just talking," Jonathan adds. Lucas gives us a strained smile, making me uncomfortable. I can tell Jonathan is uncomfortable as well. "Um, your brother's right, it is late. I should, uh, get to bed," Jonathan declares as he stands up.
"Oh, okay. Goodnight," I tell him, smiling sweetly.
He returns the smile and replies, "goodnight." He looks at Lucas as he passes by him and awkwardly grins, saying "goodnight" to him as well before leaving the room. Lucas shuts the door after Jonathan then turns to me with a scolding look.
"What?"
"What were you guys talking about?" he asks, approaching me and sitting on the bed. I simply shrug.
"What we were talking about earlier: memories," I casually voice. Lucas's suspicious look doesn't falter.
"Mhm..." he hums, not believing me. My eyebrows knit together in bewilderment.
"Do you have something to say to me?" I firmly ask, raising my eyebrows. He shrugs, pretending to be casual.
"No. It's just that I can't help but notice how friendly you two are," he remarks. Ugh, here we go.
"That's because we are friends," I state.
"Who used to be more," Lucas retaliates. I roll my eyes at this.
"What are you saying?" I huff.
"Nothing. Just... remember that he's married... to your best friend," he mentions. "And that he's way older than you now." I sigh in frustration. This isn't new information for me.
"I know. I don't need a reminder of that. I'm literally in their house. It's insulting that you think you need to tell me this," I state. Does he really think I'm going to do something to ruin their marriage?
"Okay, you're right, I'm sorry. That sounded bad. Look, I don't think that of you, I just want to make sure you don't become attached again... because you can't. It's over," Lucas explains. Well, ouch. That was rather blunt.
"I know... I'm not. We were just talking," I softly reply. Lucas gives me a sympathetic look and slightly nods.
"Okay... I just don't want you to get hurt again," he claims, more gently this time. I smile weakly and nod. He plants a kiss on my forehead and gets up. "Goodnight, y/n. Sleep well."
"Goodnight, Lucas," I return. I release a heavy sigh when he exits the room and sink into the covers. Oh, man, I hope no one else got the same impression Lucas did about Jonathan and I.
•~•~•~•
Jonathan's POV:
I quietly step into my own bedroom, careful to not make a sound, just in case Nancy is asleep. I make my way to the bed and climb under the covers. Just as I make myself comfortable, Nancy turns to face me and speaks up. "Where'd you go?"
"To talk to y/n," I respond.
"Y/n?" she clarifies, to which I hum in confirmation. "Talk about what?"
"Just kept the conversation from earlier going. We even mentioned Steve Harrington," I answer. Nancy slightly chuckles at the mention of Steve but a thoughtful expression remains on her face. "Is there a problem?" I inquire, hoping I didn't upset her.
"No, no problem," she quickly replies. She places a hand on my cheek as she gazes into my eyes. "I know how much she meant to you, how much she still means to you. She's important to me too. I'm not gonna forbid you from talking to her or anything after finally getting her back. I couldn't take that away from you," she conveys. I smile fondly at her, grateful for how understanding she is. She has always been so respectful toward my memory of y/n.
"Thanks, honey. Goodnight," I respond, pecking her lips. She returns the "goodnight" and soon enough, I'm out like a light.
"Which movie?" I ask y/n as we sit on my bed. She scans the movie cases sprawled out on the bed. I study her face, immediately knowing that she's undecided. It's movie night at my house with my family and my mom's boyfriend. Bob isn't my favorite person so I don't really care for movie night. The only good thing about it is being able to invite my girlfriend.
"Man, I don't know. Why don't you ask Will?" y/n answers. I collect all the movies and scoff.
"You're no help. Why do I keep you around?" I joke, making her giggle.
"Because you love me and you'd be lost without me," she fires back, smiling innocently at me.
"Can't argue with that," I reply, giving her a short kiss. We gleam at each other when we part. "Let's go ask Will," I suggest as I hold the movies in one hand and clasp her hand to pull her off the bed with the other. We walk down the hall and knock on Will's door. I open it and we invite ourselves in. "Hey, bud. I, uh, didn't know what you'd like so I got a variety. Take your pick," I greet Will, setting the cases down on the dresser beside me.
"Hi, Will," y/n kindly greets my brother.
"Hi," Will grins at her. "Whatever you want," he addresses me before going back to what he was doing.
"See, he's no help either. Why don't you tell him something?" y/n sarcastically remarks. I nudge her arm, silently scolding her and she just raises her hands up in defense, confused by my reaction. Will's a little sensitive since he got out of the Upside Down, I don't want to risk ticking him off.
"Alright," I acknowledge Will before sitting on his bed. Y/n goes around to the other side and plops down as well. "What are you working on?" I ask the boy.
I peek at his paper, seeing an interesting drawing. "Zombie Boy? Who's Zombie Boy?"
"Ooo, is that like a superhero or something?" y/n asks him. Will awkwardly looks around.
"No, it's me," he replies, sounding a bit embarrassed. Y/n and I exchange a look.
"Did someone call you that?" I question. I proceed to grill him when he doesn't talk. "Hey, you can talk to me. You know that, right? Whatever happened."
"Jonathan," y/n cautiously calls my name. I brush her off and continue to pester Will to tell me what's bothering him.
"Will, come on, Talk to me!"
"Stop treating me like that!" Will snaps.
"What? Like what?" I ask baffled. Y/n sits beside me, staring down at her lap.
"Like everyone else does. Like there's something wrong with me."
"What are you talking about?" I ask confused.
"Mom, Dustin, Lucas, everyone. They all treat me like I'm gonna break. Like I'm a baby. Like I can't handle things on my own. The only one who treats me normally is y/n!" I glance at her for a second before looking at Will again. "It doesn't help. It just makes me feel like more of a freak."
"You're not a freak," I try to assure him.
"Yeah, I am. I am," Will retorts. I eye y/n for help and she just nods her head toward Will, hinting for me to talk to him. I quickly think of the perfect thing to say.
"You know what? You're right. You are a freak," I state, crossing my legs on the bed. Will looks up offended.
"What?"
"No, I'm serious. You're a freak. But what? Do you want to be normal? Do you want to be just like everyone else? Being a freak is the best. Alright? I'm a freak," I ramble.
"Is that why you don't have any friends?" Will questions. I hear Y/n snort and I turn to her with a pointed look. She merely shrugs, so I turn back to Will.
"I- I have," I pause and chuckle. "I have friends, Will," I argue.
"Do they go to a different school?" y/n chimes in.
"Y/n!" I whisper-yell, sharply turning to her.
"Oh, sorry," she voices, causing Will to try to refrain from laughing.
"Anyway, I have friends."
"Then why are you always hanging out with me and y/n?" Will questions.
"It's hard to hang out with people when they don't exist," y/n jumps in again. Will snorts and I turn to her with an annoyed expression.
"Y/n!"
"Okay, okay. I'll stop," she claims, snickering. Will quietly snickers as well before rapidly recomposing himself. I continue speaking as if nothing happened.
"I always hang out with you guys because you're my best friends, alright? And I would rather be best friends with Zombie Boy and a girl who can move things with her mind than with a boring nobody. You know what I mean?" I explain. Will looks dumbfounded, so I open my mouth to keep explaining but y/n beats me to it.
"You know... I'm a freak too," she claims, intriguing Will. "I mean, what else would you call someone who can do this?" she asks, waving her hand, lavender energy swirling around it.
Will shrugs and answers, "Awesome?"
Y/n laughs at this. "Sure, some people would call me that. But there are also people who would prefer the term 'freak." Will's face changes as he ponders on her words. "I was once in your shoes. When I escaped from the lab and the Sinclair's took me in, they enrolled me in the middle school. And I was fresh from the lab so I had a buzz cut. My mom gave me a wig to wear at school of course but I still felt weird. All these girls had beautiful heads of hair and had lots of friends while I had no hair, no social skills, and this..." she chats, rolling up her sleeve to reveal the '009' tattoo on her wrist. "It's kind of impossible to have decent social skills when you spent most of your life locked up in a lab where you barely interact with anyone. I had to learn to readapt to the outside world after being isolated for so long... so yeah, definitely a freak," she chortles.
I gaze at her in admiration, appreciating how she's trying to help Will feel better. Will slightly grins. "But despite all that, I have superpowers so it's fine. And you survived a monster world. That's pretty badass. If being badass makes you a freak, own it," Y/n concludes. Will's grin falls and is replaced with a quizzical expression all of a sudden. He's still not entirely convinced.
"Okay, look... Who would you rather be friends with? Bowie or Kenny Rogers?" I chime in.
"Ugh," Will cringes.
"Exactly. It's no contest. The thing is, nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world. Got it?" I express.
"Well... some people like Kenny Rogers," Will points out.
"Kenny Rogers? I love Kenny Rogers!" Bob claims, appearing at the door. The three of us share a look, trying to contain our laughter.
"What's so funny?" Bob asks.
"Nothing," Will replies as he looks at the movies on the dresser.
He finds a particular movie and exclaims, "Mr. Mom. Whoo! Perfect!" He walks out and the three of us sit there laughing.
"Alright. Let's go watch the movie," y/n insists, getting off the bed and walking around to pull me up. I groan, not really wanting to go but get up anyway. We go into the living room and I sit in the armchair, pulling y/n down onto my lap. Bob puts the movie on and we all sit down and start watching. Bob's having the time of his life but I'm truthfully kind of bored. He cackles at a joke while I yawn. Y/n notices and snuggles closer to me, resting her head on my shoulder. I lay my head on top of hers and wrap my arm around her. Maybe movie night isn't so bad after all.
I slowly open my eyes, viewing a ceiling above me. I turn my head to the side and see Nancy fast asleep. I sigh and stare up at the ceiling again. It was just a dream... well, not just a dream. A memory. Everything is so different now. How did our lives go from that to this? If she had never gotten on that plane, our lives would be completely different. I wonder what that would've been like...