You were tipsy, head spinning and vision blurred. With your arms up in the air and slight sway to your movements, you felt blissfully unaware of everything that surrounded you at that moment. Music pumped through your veins and sweaty bodies pushed up against your's as the whole room danced to the sounds of the night.
It was the night of Halloween, the one night of the year that all the teenagers turned into monsters and everyone was afraid of the shadows that lurked behind the corner. You were inside someone else's house, trying to forget that already bad week you had gone through. With Nancy's arm slung over your shoulder and her high pitched shouts in your ear, you couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.
You didn't see him push through the door and struggle to make his way through the moving crowd. In fact, you didn't even know he was in the house until you noticed him coming towards you with a look of surprise plastered across his face.
You danced over to the older boy, empty cup in hand and a large smile on your face. You grabbed his hand, pulling him closer into the dancing bodies and wrapped an arm around his neck.
"I didn't think you would come." You nearly had to shout to be heard over the music, but Jonathan just shook his head and shoved his hands in his jean pockets. "I thought you had to look after Will."
"He was with the others, I didn't want to be the annoying big brother." For a moment, neither of you talked until you were taking his hand and pulling him through the crowd, swerving around the kissing pairs and trying to avoid the boy who was being sick in the corner. Soon the two of you were out in the cold autumn air, away from the noisy house and standing in the street.
Young trick or treaters walked past in their colorful costumes, a little boy dressed in a wolf costume letting out a pathetic howl as he strolled by the two of you.
"You're drunk," Jonathan states plainly, staring back at you with a look of both shock and concern. You shook your head back, letting out a small intoxicated laugh.
"Not drunk, only a bit tipsy. Anyway, it's fun." You're swaying slightly to the deep bass that can still be heard from outside, looking up at the night sky that was filled with dark clouds and dimly shining stars. You heard him let out a heavy sigh from beside you, and soon he was stripping off his old denim jacket and placing it over your shoulder, holding it to your body. "What are you doing Byers'?"
"Y/N, you're freezing. We should go back to yours, get you warmed up, and maybe sober too." Once again you were shaking your head, moving away from the older boy.
"I'm fine Jonathan, I'm not cold. Look, you should go and find Will, don't worry about me." You start to take the jacket off your shoulders until a harsh gust of wind lashes against your skin and makes you shiver. Quickly, you're pulling the garment back towards your body, but still you're turned away from Jonathan.
"You don't get it, do you? I can't help worrying about you. And not just because you're my girlfriend." He steps closer from behind, feet crunching against the dead leaves that litter the nature strip. "When Will went into the Upside Down, I thought it couldn't get any worse. But then...then you were taken, and suddenly all the fear was real and was taking over. You and Will were gone, with no hints or signs that the two of you were even alive. You just don't get it. I thought I would loose two of the most important people in my life, because of a monster, all the while thinking that there was nothing I could do to save either of you. Just imagine that, Y/N. Imagine if I and your sister was there, and you thought there was nothing you could do." He sucked in a harsh breath, quickly wiping the tears that rolled down the skin of his face. "That feeling breaks you. It's like your soul is being ripped out of your body."
Everything went quiet around the two of you, the silence tense and painful. People walked past, swinging sacks filled with Halloween candy and screaming aloud with joy. And before you knew it, even to your surprise, you were whipping around to face the teenage boy, throwing both arms around him and burying your face into the crook of his neck. He stood still, shocked at your actions, before he was holding you closer and letting out a sob.
It was always the dark and cold nights when the fear crept in, when the feelings of loss and torment took over the bodies of those around you. Halloween was the night of spooky stories and ghastly myths about strange monsters that loomed after dark. But the two of you knew that there was nothing scarier than your own experiences, your own nightmares that had you shrieking in the dark and clinging to each other, just to remember what really was real.
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