Should I Stay or Should I Go?-Jonathan Byers x Black!OC

6. The Man With No Face

The next morning, Nancy had gathered you and Steve in the alley, going on a rant about Barb. "Wait I'm sorry, I don't get it. You went back to Steve's house?" You asked. "To look for Barb." "Yeah okay, but why didn't you just talk to me?" He asked her. "I don't know, I was scared." "So you seriously think you saw a guy in a mark just hanging out in his yard?" You asked her. "I don't think it was a mask." "But he had no face?" "I don't know, Dana! I just, I have a terrible feeling about this." "Oh this is bad." Steve chimed in. "This is really bad." "What?" You asked. "The cops, they're gonna want to talk to all of us now." "So?." You said. "My parents are gonna murder me!" "Are you serious right now?" Nancy asked. "You don't understand. My dad's a grade-A a*shole." "Barb is missing and you're worried about your dad?!" Nancy yelled. "When you talk to the cops, just don't mention the beers. It's just gonna get us all in trouble and Barbara's got nothing to do with it." "I can't believe you right now." Nancy said in disbelief. You wrapped your arm around Nancy's shoulders and led her into the school, using your other hand to flip off Steve.

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You were sitting in chemistry class, anxiously tapping on the desk, waiting for Nancy to be done talking to the cops. When she came back in the room, she gestured for you to go out there. On your way out, she slipped the photo of Steve's backyard into your bag. "Don't let anyone see." She whispered. Walking into the cafeteria to see Aunt Betty sitting with two cops with was enough to make you start shaking.

"So, you didn't overhear Nancy and Barbara's argument?" Officer Powell asked you. "No, I had fallen asleep." "Because you were drunk?" "Because I had a headache." "And what was Nancy doing?" "She went upstairs to change, and that's all I saw before I fell asleep." "She said she went back the next day and saw a bear. Did you see a bear the night of the party?" "No, I didn't." "We checked Steve's house. There no signs of a bear, or Barbara's car." "But that doesn't make sense, her car should still be there." "We think she might have took her car early in the morning and ran away somewhere." "She wouldn't do that." "You didn't know her for that long." "But I know she wouldn't do that."

After the police were done talking to everyone, you were allowed to go home early. You immediately ran into your room and took out the photo to examine it. You looked past the party scene and saw a faint figure in the woods. Maybe Nancy wasn't crazy. You picked up the phone to call Nancy. No answer. The last thing you wanted to do was bother Jonathan right now, but you had no other choice.

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Funeral homes freaked out you. Anything dealing with death did. And yet, here you were. You saw Jonathan talking to a man while looking at coffins. Your heart sank when you imagined Will laying in one of them. When he saw you, he excused himself and walked over to you. "Hey." "Hi Jonathan. Your mom said you'd be here and I really need to talk to you. I also figured you needed a friend right now." You wrapped your arms around him, hoping it would comfort him a little. "I'm so sorry." "Thanks Dana." He whispered while reciprocating the hug. You both went to sit down on a nearby bench and you pulled out the photo and handed it to Jonathan. "What do you think that is?" You asked as you pointed to the figure in the trees. "It looks like it could be some kind of perspective distortion, but I wasn't using the wide angle." He replied. "I don't know, it's weird." "And you're sure you didn't see anyone else out there?" You asked. "No. Barb was there one second, and then she was gone. I figured she bolted." "The cops think she ran away, Nancy thinks this weird man in a mask took her." "What do you think?." "I don't know." You said with a sigh. He looked at you for a moment, not saying anything, probably waiting for you to speak again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you right now. Nancy just handed me the photo and told me to look at it, and I freaked out when I saw it so I figured I'd ask you-" You cut yourself off. "I'm rambling, sorry. I'm gonna go. I'll see you later." You said as you started walking towards the door. "What did he look like?" He asked. "What?" "The man Nancy saw in the woods. What did he look like?" "I don't know. I think she said he...he didn't have-" "He didn't have a face?" He said, finishing your sentence. "How did you know that?" "Come on." He said, walking out the door.

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Jonathan had took you to the room where he develops his photos. It was illuminated with red light and each wall was covered with photos he had taken. "And now what are you doing?" You asked. "Brightening. Enlarging." "Did your mom say anything else? Like where it might've gone to?" "No, just that it came out of the wall." He took the photo out from the machine and put it in a liquid that was unknown to you. "How long does this take?" "Not long." "How long have you been a photographer?" "A while. I guess I'd rather observe people than-" "Talk to them." You finished his sentence like he did to you earlier. "I know. It's weird." "No! It's not weird. I totally get it. I'd rather sketch people than interact with them. Making friends has never been my thing." "You made friends with me pretty quickly." "That's because you're different." "How so?" "My other friends spend their free time going out and getting drunk, myself included. But you spend it looking at the world through a lens, capturing the most beautiful, most raw moments of life." "I do that because people don't say what they're really thinking. But if you capture the right moment, it says more." "What did Nancy's picture say?" "That I shouldn't have taken it in the first place." You chuckled at his response. "Why about mine?" "That, I don't know. You're a tough book to read, Dana." "Oh my god." You said as you pointed to the now developed photo. "I think that's what Nancy was talking about." The one faint figure was now sitting on the page clear as day in front of you. "My mom, I thought she was crazy, cause she said, that's not Will's body. That he's alive." "If Will is alive-" "Then Barbara is too."