Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter one
‘Let’s shake on it’

Jonathan’s life for the past few months had been hectic, chaotic, and full of surprises. He was finally glad to be finishing school for the summer holidays, and it nearly felt like all his problems had been solved. He had found his brother from the upside down, he had finished school and passed all of his classes, and he and Nancy had become pretty close, whilst investigating the mysteries of Hawkins and the upside down. There was one part of his life that didn’t feel resolved, and that was whatever the hell was going on between him and Steve Harrington.

It didn’t help that Steve had been dating Nancy long before they were even friends, and that they had always been rivals, especially after the incident of that night he took those dreadful photos. That was long ago now, but Steve still found a way to get on his nerves, especially when he felt every time they were with Nancy together he felt like he had to make everything a competition between them. Jonathan always asked himself, who and what are we doing this for? For Nancy’s love?

In full honesty, Jonathan had never really been ‘in love’ with Nancy Wheeler. If they had a label it would more than likely be something like platonic soulmates. Sure, they had hooked up a few times, and he could imagine why they may seem like a couple from afar, but the feelings he had for her were far from romantic. They had established this between them multiple times, but Steve still didn’t understand, since he was always trying to impress Nancy, degrade Jonathan, and accuse him of flirting when he and Nancy had the friendliest, most platonically imaginable conversations. Jonathan could never quite get Steve as a whole. He always felt like he was studying him, and every time he talked to Steve, he was always trying to figure out what his true intentions really were.

As Jonathan slumped on his bed trying to enjoy his first minute of vacation, his mind simply couldn’t stop buzzing about, low and behold: the thought of Steve. What was he doing right now? What was he thinking about now? Does he ever think about me? Jonathan thought to himself.

This was stupid. Their whole situation was. Jonathan really felt like he couldn’t unwind before he could understand the full context of their situation, as to why Steve was acting like this. That was the thing. Jonathan never liked things he couldn’t understand right away. Steve felt like a tricky algebra question, and for the life of him, he just couldn’t solve this one.

Maybe he needed help. But who could he talk to about this? Definitely not Nancy, she was tied up in a lot of their mess, and Jonathan didn’t want to distract her from whatever big new idea she had just got. (She was always working on something)

Jonathan knew he couldn’t tell his mom. He never really felt that comfortable talking to her about things like this. How would Jonathan even describe what was troubling him? Would he call it boy problems? He grimaced at the thought. Even if his mother could understand the complications of teenage relationships, it still just felt embarrassing to explain what was running through his mind.

Jonathan let out a long, audible sigh, like he was trying to exhale his provoking thoughts out of his head. He needed to distract himself, or he would end up lying on his bed all afternoon overthinking about a boy he shouldn’t.

Jonathan stretched his arm over his head, and stood off his bed, forcing himself to move his body. When he opens the door with a creak, his little brother Will, shouts out to him.

“Jonathan! Come here. We’re going to the lake.”

“How come?”

“Beacuase it’s the first day of the summer break! Please come? Me and the party want to go, but mom said we need you to be there to watch out.”

Lucas, El, Mike, and Will all look up at him with pleading puppy-like eyes.

This wasn’t a half-bad idea, on Jonathan’s behalf. He needed a distraction, and this one was standing right in front of him. All he had to do was watch his little brother and his friends, and he could lay back in the sun, and maybe take some photos of nature.
Jonathan grinned at them, eventually giving into their pleas.
“Well it is Summer… Why not.”

The kids giggle and kick their feet in their chairs.

“Thanks Jonathan! You’re the best!”
Will ambushes him with a small hug, and Jonathan returns the gesture by ruffling his hair. He was really grateful that his brother was safe from the depths of the upside down.

Jonathan stepped back, crossed his arms and leaned on one side of his hips, unintentionally.
“So, guys… How are we gonna get there?”
Jonathan lightly chuckles.

“You’ll drive us. Duh.”
Mike says, like the statement has no weight or consequences to it.

“Yeah, like I can fit four kids into the backseat of my car!”
Jonathan tuts at them, and they all groan, leaning against the couch, sliding their bodies down into the plush cushions. Jonathan has a second thought. If one of the kids sat in the front seat they could fit, it just depended whether there were any police on duty. The last thing Jonathan wanted right now was to get pulled over by Hopper.

“Which Lake is it that you guys want to go to?”

“The pretty one!” El exclaimed.
Jonathan tilted his head, confused with El’s unclear statement as to where the lake is.

“Its only a ten minute drive from here, it's just a bit past Hopper’s cabin.
Mike clarified for him.

Jonathan knew for a fact that roads were always scarce, and he could probably get away with one of them in the front seat. Even though he was on his learners licence, he felt completely confident driving other passengers, it was just the police who didn’t seem to agree with him. But they barely patrolled that specific road.

Jonathan strided to the kitchen bench and grabbed the car keys out of a bowl that seemed to hold all their junk.

“Fine then. Mike, go in the front seat. Oh, and make sure everyone remembers to bring their towels!”

All five of them walked out the house, and onto the driveway, and Jonathan walked to the car door, and slid the key in, unlocking the family vehicle.

“Hop in guys.”

The car doors opened, then closed with a thump, and everyone plugs their seatbelt in and Jonathan veers off, letting the road distract him from his persistent thoughts.

….

Jonathan parks under a tall shady tree, and then the minute he turns the engine off, Will and his friends scramble out of the car, and run to the reserved, quiet lake. Jonathan was glad they came here. El was right. It was a beautiful spot, here in Hawkins and only a short drive away. Surely there was no one else swimming here. Right?

Jonathan followed behind the kids, who were already splashing in the water, and stopped when he found everyone’s towel, in a not-so-neat pile. He placed his belongings beside them, and curved his back to slide off his shirt, leaving him in just his swimming trunks. On the side of his vision, he could see another towel, alongside a bag. Maybe someone else was there. But in the end, who cares? Jonathan probably didn’t know them, and whoever it was, wouldn’t get in the way of his fun.

Boy was he wrong.

Jonathan went into the water, which was surprisingly warm, and didn’t give him much of a shock when he went in. Jonathan let out a sigh of relief, like his anxious thoughts were being washed away from the water. His arms rested on the rock behind him, and he extended his legs, floating on the water, watching Will and his friends splash around in the water. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, absorbing the tranquillity of the moment.

I should take a photo of this, Jonathan thought to himself. The scenery and lighting both went hand in hand. Just as he was about to stand up, he felt a force pulling him back down.

“What the Hell?”
Jonathan’s eyebrows furrowed, and he looked down to where the force was coming from. He couldn't see anything, since the water was murky, but it definitely felt like something grabbing on his foot.

“Ok Will,”
Jonathan scoffed.
“Not funny! Let go now.”

There was no response. Yet he could feel something pulling down on his foot. His heart skipped a beat.

“Will?”

Jonathan looked to his right, to see Will, who was a few metres away, distracted by his friends. Who was doing this?

Jonathan pulled his leg up again, only to feel the grip on his ankle tighten more. There was one thing Jonathan did not want to do, and that was to go under water. He was sure he would face the weird person who was holding him from below eventually, right? They would have to come up for air.

Jonathan simply couldn’t think of who was doing this. Then when everything was already as bad as it was, The grip of one his foot lurched downwards, and this time Jonathan couldn’t stay afloat any longer.

He scrunched his face as he felt the water engulf his whole body, and then he felt a hand on his shoulder, this time, not holding tightly, but softly, like there was no rush, but it was only so long before Jonathan needed to go up for water.

He opened his eyes slowly, and his vision was blurry, but he very well knew who was holding him.

It was Steve.

Before he could really do anything, he felt Steve’s chest brush against his, and both of Steve’s hands were now on his shoulders, and something about it made time stop. The blue haze of the water shone across Steve’s face, and he could see him grin, and a bubble rose from his mouth, as he smiled further, and his lips parted.

Steve's feet started paddling them towards the surface, and Jonathan gasped when he finally got a fresh breath of air.

“Holy… Steve, what are you doing?”
Jonathan looked him directly in the eye.
“Why are you doing this with me?”

“Jonathan…”

Steve chuckled and waded towards him, invading his personal space yet once again. Jonathan was starting to feel his heart stuck in his chest again, like time was getting as slow as it felt just before. His shoulders were sticking up to his neck again. He felt… nervous to say the least. And confused for that matter. Why was Steve acting like this, and why does the universe always seem to conspire against him? When Jonathan went out thinking he could spend a few seconds without thinking about Steve, and now he was physically standing here before him; or swimming beside him as a matter of fact.

“ What is it this time Steve? Why did you come here? I swear you knew I was going to the river and came along just to bother me.”

Jonathan looked away from Steve, feeling a pang of guilt, wishing he could dip his head back in the water again so they didn’t have to converse.

“Jeez, okay that’s one way to say you don’t like me. Jonathan, I didn’t come here to cause trouble, and for the record, I had no idea you were going to be swimming here too.
God forbid I want to go for a swim…”
Steve muttered to himself, dragging his eyes away from Jonathan, crossing his arms. He turned around from Jonathan and moved to a shallower part of the water, to sit down.

“Come.”

Steve flicked his hand towards him in a beckoning gesture.
Jonathan hesitated before reluctantly moving to the shallow side of the lake where Steve was sitting. Their knees grazed against each other, and Jonathan instantly flinched back, avoiding the contact between them. He sat directly in front of him, holding his knees to his chest. The water was just shallow enough that he could see Steve's collarbones peaking above the water.

Steve stroked a hand through his sleek hair, (that never seemed to have a bad day), and looked directly at him.

“Hey, I seriously didn’t know that you were gonna be here. But now is a good time to talk.”
Steve said with a slightly authoritative look cast across his eyes.

His eyes would say everything. It had always been like that with him.

“Yeah, why don't we talk about you dragging me underwater, a simple ‘hello’ would’ve been just fine!”
Jonathan scoffed, his voice becoming a tad more harsh, he looked visibly annoyed.

“You know the kind of man I am Byers’! I like to make an appearance, and maybe throw a little fun in it too. Not that you seemed to enjoy it as much as I thought you would.

“I guess your definition of ‘fun’ isn’t exactly the same as mine.”

“I’m sorry I kind of drowned you.”

Jonathan chuckled a little at that statement, since it wasn’t something he expected to hear every day, especially not from the boy in front of him.
Steve’s face suddenly grew serious, and he leaned in towards Jonathan.

I know we’ve always been doing dumb competitive stuff over Nance, but we broke up, so-”

Jonathan cut him off abruptly.
“You broke up with her? Why?”

Jonathan paused and looked at Steve, as his realisation clicked, and shoved Steve’s arm, grinning profusely.

“Dude, did she dump you? That’s pretty lame”
He laughed at Steve leaning back a bit more into the water, looking up at him with his classic grin he always pulled when he found something amusing.

“We both thought it was for the best!”
Steve exclaimed, then paused his mouth slightly opening then closing, like he was cautious for what he was going to say next.

“Yeah, she low-key dumped my ass. I've been going to this river for like, a week straight to try and clear my mind… To distract myself so I don't feel like a damn loser.”

Jonathan’s eyebrow raised a little. He had come here to distract himself, and weirdly in a way he has been, even though the person who’s been distracting him the most is right in front of him, talking to him.

“Well you do like Nancy, right?”
Steve sighed, and leant back, turning his gaze to the scenery.
“She’s all yours now.”

Jonathan was confused. He never had romantic feelings for Nancy.

“We’re friends Steve.”

He could kind of understand why Steve might get that, when he was trying to steal Nancy from Steve to spend more time with her, but he didn’t want to take Nancy’s time for the reasons Steve may have thought. He just liked hanging out with her as a friend. They always had topics they could talk about for long durations of the day, and Jonathan thought Steve wouldn’t want to be included in their theoretical conversations, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe he got Steve as whole wrong. Jonathan shouldn’t have been so quick to judge.

“Oh. You don’t like her? I guess I just thought that since you always wanted to hang out with her. Sorry.”

Steve looked down at his distorted reflection in the water.

Jonathan tilted his head, and leant a bit closer to Steve without thinking about it.

“Why are you saying sorry?”

“I don’t know. I guess I felt bad for assuming that. Assuming that you were into her. I should get to know you, so I don’t have to ask you things like that.”

Steve tilted his head up to face Jonathan again.

“I want to get to know you. This summer. Not with Nancy, like… I want to be friends with you.”

Since when has he been this shy around me?

Jonathan let out a sheepish grin before, shoving Steve’s shoulder back into the water, creating a bit of a splash between them.

“Ok. But just warning you. I’m a total loser.”

“One of us has to be.”

Steve’s eyes stilled, looking at Jonathan with hazy eyes. And it happened again. Time slowed down. And Jonathan felt his heart stuck in his chest. He didn’t know how to deal with this new feeling, other than to act on it. Maybe Steve was right. Maybe they could be friends. He listened to his heart, not his mind, and without a question, he stretched his arm out to Steve, and his calloused fingertips brushed against Steve's palm.

“Let’s shake on it. We’ll be friends. And we won’t let Nancy get in the way.”

Steve grinned, leaned forward, and held onto his hand swiftly, like it was naturally supposed to fit in his.

“Why do you want to be friends with me though?”
Jonathan wasn’t really sure where Steve’s fondness towards him came from.
It wasn’t very long ago when Steve would scowl at him when they came even close to contact, and now he shook his hand without thinking twice.

Steve averted his gaze and then shrugged.

“I just want to be friends with you. I used to hang out with assholes, and you're a good person.”

Steve crossed his arms, and his face faltered onto the cool water and sunk further into the shallow water.

“I’m also just tired of us fighting over Nancy. We’re not together anymore, so she won’t be there. Not in the way.”

“I don’t think Nancy was ever in the way.”
Jonathan said, with a tang of guilt in his voice.

“It was just what was going on between us.”

Steve lifted his head back up at Jonathan, meeting his lips this time, not his eyes. Steve stuttered, which was something he never normally did.

“W-what was between us.? I don’t know what you mean.”

“Just the tension between us.”
Jonathan sighed.
“I think we pretended that Nancy was the reason why we were trying to win and compete against each other… But I think it was something else. A different feeling. I don't know how to describe it, but maybe we can figure it out. Together.”

Jonathan held his shoulder, with a reassuring squeeze, and he felt confident, in that they would become friends, or whatever it was that their relationship was. Steve smiled softly, and got on his knees to stand up. As he rose from the water, Jonathan could hear the excess water trickling down from his swimming trunks. He looked up at Steve, and saw his hand lowering down to his level to help him up.

“Jon. Get up. It’s getting dark.”

“Jon? Is that my new name now?”

Steve pursed his lips, and a flush creeped up his neck. It was deadly obvious since his oversized college jacket he would always wear was now off, and his whole chest was revealed.

Since when did Steve’s neck get pink like that? And since when does he get flustered around me?

Steve normally seemed confident, and full of himself, which was something Jonathan always found annoying, but today something seemed softer about him. Like his rough edges had been sanded smooth. Maybe Steve was over their rivalry. Maybe he did want to be friends. Jonathan was too surprised by this since Steve had ended up being caught up with him and Nancy while they had been figuring out what the upside down was. He had seen just as much as Jonathan had, he knew about everything that happened to Will. They had been on the same side longer than Jonathan may have thought.

Steve was never the ‘bad guy’ he just needed a wake-up call. He’s matured now, and Jonathan could see he was putting in an effort to be friends with Jonathan, and not just because Nancy told him too.

“Jonathan? Are you coming?”
Steve was gripping into his shoulder, shaking himself back and forth a bit, and Jonathan came back to reality.

“Sorry. I zoned out. Let's get Will and the others.”

Steve smiled fondly at him and let go of his grasp on Jonathan’s shoulder, he swerved his body back towards where the children were swimming, and tilted Jonathan to do the same.

Jonathan briskly caught up with him, leaving a trail on both of their footprints in the sand behind them.

“Hey, guys, we need to go back now!”

Two hours had already passed, and the sky was now turning a hazy shade yellow, as the sun got lower.

Will groaned, and he and his friends rose out of the water.

“Sheesh! You guys have been swimming non stop for two hours now! You all must be spent!

Jonathan could feel his brain switch onto parent mode. His mom was off somewhere, and there was simply no more time to slouch about with Steve.

“I wish time could freeze so I wouldn’t have to make dinner.”
Jonathan chortled to himself, out of Will’s earshot. Steve heard him loud and clear.

“I can help.”

“Oh uh.. I dunno, don’t you have to go off to your house?”
Jonathan didn’t want him getting in any trouble, since he would most likely have to take the blame for dragging Steve in with him.

“Honestly Jon-”

“Hey Steve.”

Jonathan turned around and saw his little brother staring up at him and Harrington, face unfazed, like it was normal to see Steve around with him.

“Hey Dude.”
Steve replied back with the same carefree tone in his voice.

“Jonathan, are we going? And can Mike and El stay over?”
Jonathan scratched the back of his neck giving himself some time to think.

“That’s on their parents, not me. Let’s drive home and they can use the phone there.”

Will nodded at him and walked back to his friends leaning against the car.

“Steve, you should go home. I can handle this.”

“Obviously you can’t! You look so tired from the last day of school. Everyone is. Let me help out.”

“Steve, since when have you wanted to help me out? I mean, wouldn’t you rather be partying or something instead of hanging out with a loser?”

Steve looked at him with an undemanding look, and tousled his hand through his hair.

“Dude, those days are way behind me. And remember what I said? I’m a loser too.
I have nothing better to do, so let me help out.”

Steve did care. And this was his way of showing it. Jonathan would accept him this time.

“Did you bring a car?”
Jonathan says as he walks towards his own, twiddling the keys around his fingers.

“Nah. I walked.”

Steve brushed past Jonathan’s shoulders with a presumptuous grin plastered onto his face, and snatched the keys out of his palm. His hands stilled there for what seemed like an infinite moment before he thrust his body into the driver's seat of the Byers’ car.

“This car could be decent if it had a fresh coat of paint ya’know.”
Steve glanced at the dusty interior of the dusty car, then his hands crept through Jonathan’s belongings that were inconveniently close enough to Steve so he could reach out and rummage through everything.
“Mr photographer, is this what I think it is? A photo album?”
Steve had that casual dumb look on his face. He knew he was pissing Jonathan off.

Jonathan snatched it away, and held the book close to his chest. Before putting it in the back seat.

“It’s important. And it is still in the works. From now on, just.. Keep your hands on the steering wheel.”

Jonathan clasped his palm around steves, and pressed it onto the wheel.

First us nearly holding hands when he got the keys, and now this? I can’t give Steve the wrong idea, he’s gonna think I’m a freak.

“Ok then boss!”
Steve said those three words in the most relaxed tone, like the previous encounter had barely fazed him. He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t care about things like that. Jonathan would need to do something bigger, bolder for Steve to really react.

“Everyone buckled in?”
Jonathan said whilst checking the children's reflection in the rear view mirror, and to his relief, they were, even though El was sitting on Will’s lap due to the lack of space.
Jonathan let out a soft chuckle before turning back to Steve.

“You know the way to mine?”

“WIth the size of Hawkins I could drive you to your house blind.”

The engine started with a rumble, and they were already U-turning onto the road, and for a brief moment Jonathan felt all of his worries trail behind him.

And for a brief moment with this new friend by his side, he felt infinite.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two
It’s never over…

Eventually, the rusty car screeched across the gravel driveway beside the Byer’s house. It was starting to get dark, and without the lights on from the house's interior, it looked lonely and empty. Like the Byer family had never resided there in the first place. Then Jonathan sees a flash of movement coming from the right side of the house.
Will’s room. He had already put his lights on, and Jonathan could faintly hear the floorboards creaking as El thumped up and down, dancing to some song from the Spice Girls. He could see the silhouette of her bopping up and down through the thin curtains.

Jonathan was having these quiet moments more often. Like his mind was out of focus. If He himself was like a camera, he would’ve easily twisted the lens right now, but Jonathan simply couldn’t change the things that affected him. He could only change the way he reacted to them. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. He could simply let his mind wander off, now that he wasn’t focusing on schoolwork… And Steve.

Steve!

Jonathan breathed in sharply and felt the cool, wispy air enter his body. Coming back to his mind and body, he swiveled his body back to the car, yet Steve was not there.

I was dumb to think he was going to stay. I always get my hopes up.
Then, those rough, calloused hands Jonathan knew all too well clasped ‌his arm. Jonathan could feel his mouth move up the corners of his cheeks. He was smiling. Did the thought of Steve alone make him feel happy and safe? He hadn’t felt safe with anyone for a long time, and with a guy like Steve, it was a first.

“Sorry, dude, I was just calling my mom.”
Jonathan could feel Steve exhale as he talked, and his warm breath gave him a tingle down his neck.

“You’re fine. It’s fine, I mean you didn’t have to stay in the first place-”

Steve abruptly interrupted Jonathan, saving himself from his anxious tangent.
“I wanted to stay, alright? So stop saying I didn’t have to come. I’m a guest. Make me feel welcome.”

Steve bounded towards the door, where the house’s warm, cozy light was spilling out onto his face. He couldn’t resist Steve. He was being so kind to him. But he wouldn’t let his guard down either. Sure, it was nice Steve was keeping him company, but no one can ever be sure of Steve’s true intentions. Regardless, Jonathan felt something. He wasn’t necessarily sure what his feelings would be labeled as, but he sensed something deep down in the pit of his stomach. Whenever Steve would give him that damn grin, it would make his stomach spin unnecessarily.

“Jon! Come on. Are you gonna keep me waiting or what?”

His mind had gone elsewhere again. He was just out of it today. It wasn’t the first time he had stood still for 10 pointless minutes, pondering over his every decision. This time, though, everything around him was blacking out. His vision was getting hazy, and Jonathan felt like he couldn’t even keep his legs up straight. He shut his eyes for one second, and the pounding in his ears stopped. Everything was quiet, apart from Steve’s voice, shrill and clear.

“Wake up! Please, Jon!..”

The curtains had been drawn, the room dimly lit, but he was sitting there with me. He was bright. Brighter than anything Jonathan had ever seen. He had tapped in and out of reality, but each time he opened his eyes he was there, looking over him. Like he was his guardian angel.

“I’ll wait for you, Jon. I’ll wait for your return. Just rest. You're not late for anything.”

Steve then brushed his lips over Jonathan's cold shoulder and wrapped a rugged blanket around him. Steve laid so softly against him. It was never over. Nothing was over. The way Steve held him felt never ending, and timeless.

________________________
Morning struck Jonathan's body. When he stretched his hand to the other side of the couch, Steve’s warm body was no longer present. He ought to eventually… But the way he took care of Jonathan when he fainted, well, it felt intimate. He heard everything Steve said that night even when he thought none else could hear him.

‘I’ll wait for you Jon. I’ll wait for your return.’

Was that true? Had Steve waited for him? He is definitely gone now, there is no doubt about it.

All of last night's events felt fuzzy and patchy, like the quilt that lay over his shoulders. Jonathan knew he fainted, and Steve took him inside. What about Will? What about dinner? When Jonathan wasn’t able to take care of his little brother, who would. His mind started to jumble and tense with anxious situations that could’ve happened during the time he was left unconscious.

Jonathan lifted his knees above the couch and grunted when he finally stood up. He saw his reflection in the kitchen sink, his face was blurred, but he blatantly saw that his hair was very disheveled. How long had he been out? Before worrying about himself, though, he charged down the hallway to Will's small room. The door was left ajar and to his avail, his little brother was nowhere to be seen.

Jonathan was about to leave when he spotted a notepad from the corner of his eye. This piqued his curiosity, so he walked towards the desk.

Out with the party. Be back before dinner. Hope you rested well!
P.S Tell Steve thank you so much for taking care of me and Mike.
I love you big brother!!

Did Steve make dinner? Since when did Steve give spontaneous acts of kindness to the Byers? He found it all very perplexing.

Jonathan stretched his arms above his head and tumbled back into the kitchen. The clock read 11:15 AM. He must’ve needed the rest. When he opened the fridge, there was a miscellaneous container with burrito mince, and beside it, there was a half-empty bag of nachos. This brought a perky grin to Jonathan’s face. And he felt something in his body thrum with warmth. Steve cares about me. He did make him and his brother dinner. As he warmed the food in the microwave, he thought of how giving and kind Steve has been with him, surely something must’ve changed. Perhaps his heart has. When was the next time Steve would come over? He never thought he would voluntarily want to hang out with him, but after the affection he gave to Jonathan, it left him ‌with a yearning feeling in his heart. He wanted to see Steve’s face. He wanted more of him. And he wanted him now.

The beep of the microwave flashed Jonathan back to reality, and he took the steaming hot food out. Jonathan was famished, and after 5 minutes the beef mince had been devoured. His belly was warm from the food, and he felt grateful for Steve cooking. It was nice not having to make his own food for once.

The second his place was clean, he jumped out of the chair, shoved the dish into the already loaded dishwasher and went over to the home phone. Then a realisation hit him. He never ended up asking for his number. Jonathan smacked his head against the wall and groaned at his stupidity. He wasn’t going to give up yet. Not when Steve had put so much time and effort into him.

He briskly punched Nancy’s phone number into the home phone's digits and put his ear to the phone, waiting for his friend to pick up.

“Hello?”
Nancy’s voice traveled through her phone to his, her voice was crisp and assertive. Her voice was always recognizable.

“Nance, it’s me, Jonathan. I’m so glad you picked up.”
Jonathan hesitated over the line and twirled his fingers around the phone cord.
“I never thought I’d ask you this… Can you please give me Steve's number?”

Nancy held back a giggle that he could obviously hear through the line.
“He’s not that bad, eh? He’s like a gift. You have to unwrap him before you get to see what he’s really all about.”

There was a pause between them. Nancy could always read people well, even if it was through call.

“You don’t need to explain why you want his number. Not everything with you and Steve has to include me too. I’m done with that love triangle bullcrap!”

Jonathan chuckled at her fierce comment.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Anyway, here’s his number…”

Jonathan scrambled for a pen, and conveniently, there was one already in his pocket. Jonathan sighed at himself for being dumb, then wrote down the numbers Nancy was deciding, even double checking with her to make sure he didn’t miss a number.

“Oh, Jonathan! One last thing. If you’re trying to call him now, he might not answer. I saw him in town earlier, and he looked like he was in a real hurry. All he said to me was, ‘I’m going to the mall.’ I’ve never seen him that motivated to go to the mall. Must be important.”

“I guess it is…”
Jonathan remarked.

“Well, thanks Nance, I’ll hang up now. Talk soon though.”

“Bye Jon!”

The phone beeped, and Jonathan’s head turned back to the number pad, and entered the exact number Nancy had recited to him. The line rang again and again for what seemed like forever..

‘I’m going to the mall.’

That must be where he is.

Jonathan didn't have time to wait. He needed to see him. Jonathan scrambled to his room and shoved on the nearest pair of jeans and briskly buttoned his flannel shirt. He had nothing to lose.

Why would he be going to the mall? Was he shopping? Steve kept doing things that Jonathan didn't predict from him. Making him dinner, driving him home, these actions seemed to be coming at him ‌ from out of the blue.
Although it was now afternoon, there was still a dewy mist in the air that only came the morning after the rain. The clouds were low, and everything around him was foggy. He would need to drive safely.
He jammed his key into the car's door, and it revved. still some gas in her. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do. Jonathan hauled the car into a U-turn and pulled out of his driveway. The road was slippery, a thin layer of frost was glazed over the tarmac. Maybe too slippery to drive on. He didn't care though. He just wanted to see Steve, and he couldn't explain why.
In life, there are many things that would bring Jonathan joy, but when his mother asked, he could never explain why. It was a mystery ‌why he favored the most worn-out toy or why he was drawn back to the old farm from his childhood. He couldn't explain why. He could only explain how it made him feel. Steve fell into that bracket. There were so many things about him that he could hate, but when he saw Steve tending to him last night, he couldn't see a single flaw. Only his devotion and care.
He drove past old houses that brought back old burned memories. Some with his brother, some more recent, with Steve. Like every other place in Hawkins, the mall was nearby, and in ‌5 minutes, Jonathan was already parking in Starcourt Mall. The neon lights of the shops illuminated in front of him, and Steve’s eyes watered from how bright the signs were.
He needed to find Steve.
When Jonathan strides into the mall, the bustling sound of chatter and cash registers echoes around him. He holds his breath and continues his search for Steve, even though it was already overstimulating him.
Why would anyone voluntarily go here? It smells like cheap perfume, and that metallic smell that money always has.
Steve looks through every shop he’d hope to see Steve in. The movie store was missing his presence, so was the hair products aisle at the pharmacy. Jonathan was losing hope. It was practically impossible to find him in an immense, crowded mall like this. Jonathan sighed and headed towards the exit when he heard it.
The chuckle he instantly recognised. He could feel his breath on his shoulder, in each huff of laughter he took.
Steve.
When he turned around, Steve was merely inches away from his face, and Jonathan could see every single freckle bronzing along his neck, every cracked wrinkle on his eye, as he smiled, his dimples, his shiny hair, his olive skin-
“Jeez Steve, bit close aren’t you?”
Jonathan said this a flustered gasp and planted his hand onto Steve’s chest, shoving Steve away from him. Jonathan let out a shuddered breath, now that he was at a reasonable distance from him. Steve was just too much sometimes, and Jonathan craves to know why Steve is charming him, and not some girl at the clothing store. Jonathan shouldn’t feel all flustered and love-struck by Steve, but he simply. Can’t help himself when Steve is messing with him like that, creeping up on him, and laughing when Jonathan didn’t know. Jonathan want to hit himself since he had been scouring the whole mall, when Steve had been behind him for the last ten minutes, and he was absolutely clueless.
Why does he creep up on me? First at the river, and now? I wish I could read his mind.
“Sorry if I scared you, Jonathan. You’ll have to put up with this now that we're friends.”
Steve shrugged his arm over Jonathan’s shoulder and lead him to exit way too casually.
“I finished my shift at Scoops Ahoy. Let's go back to yours.”
“Yep”
‘Yep’ was all Jonathan could say. Steve was tugging at his heartstrings, and he didn’t even know it. Maybe he did. That’s what made him twice as awkward. Steve Hairrington chose him. And he didn’t know why. But when he felt Steve’s hand grip onto his shoulder, he grinned a little without thinking twice.
We accept the love we think we deserve, and Jonathan deserves Steve right now.
Maybe just this once.