Crossfire - Book 1 - S.H.

Chapter 3: Holly, Jolly

Jonathan hated the idea of having to go to Steve Harrington's house at all, especially considering the boy was, apparently, throwing a party, but, once he called his mom after his failed encounter with his dad that afternoon just to let her know he was okay and would be home later that day, Joyce told him Shelley had decided to spend the day with her boyfriend and asked him if he could pick her up whenever he was driving home. And, as much as Jonathan hated having to go to Harrington's, he decided to suck it up and just get it over with. After all, all he had to do was ring the bell and ask for someone to call Shelley so they could both head home. Besides... Harrington's house was as close to the woods as a house could be, so, if he was going to be forced to actually see Harrington's face that night, he might as well make something out of it and take some time to wander around the woods his baby brother was, supposedly, last been in.

So, parking his car a few streets down from Harrington's house, Jonathan picked up his camera and started to walk around, finding Will's bike thrown aside at the side of the road just like Hopper had told them and looking for anymore clues that could possibly still be hidden there somewhere - footprints, pieces of clothing, a strand of hair, anything that would mean his brother had been there at all. He took a few pictures here and there, hoping that once they were developed, they could be seen at all considering how dark it already was. But once Jonathan crossed all of the woods from the main road toward Harrington's house and he found nothing of significance, he almost decided to drop it. He was already hearing the loud music and drunken laughter coming from the house and he scrunched up his nose, wondering how in the hell Shelley even put up with shit like that to begin with. Once he was close enough to the house, the first thing Jonathan saw was the heated pool and, taking a second to photograph the woods around him for later inspection, he realized he couldn't hear any sounds of the water moving. Turning back to the pool with a frown, Jonathan realized most of the party had already moved to the inside of the house - probably playing some drunk version of truth or dare or strip poker or something - he didn't know exactly what actually went on in these parties - but, as it seemed, one person decided to linger around and that happened to be Barbra Holland - or Barb, as he always saw Nancy Wheeler calling her during their classes together. She was sitting by the edge of the pool, a bandage hastily wrapped around her finger and already scarlet red from what Jonathan could only imagine was a nasty cut. Nancy was nowhere to be found and, as much as that was very much weird, Jonathan decided he could relate to poor, lonely Barb that night - after all, if someone he cared about as much as she seemed to care for Nancy had asked him to wait around for them as they mingled around in a party he didn't want any part in, he too would've found a silent, secluded place to do it.

Jonathan sighed then, way too awkward to even try and strike a conversation with Barb. So, instead, he just decided to let her be - God knows that was what he would have wanted if their places were swapped -, wrapping his camera around his neck as he made his way around the house to head over to the front door instead. Jonathan just stood there for a moment, taking in a few deep breaths as he mentally prepared for what was about to happen - oh, Shelley owed him big time for this - and, finally, decided to ring the bell. Of course, the one to open the door happened to be no one other than Tommy fucking H. and, as soon as the older boy noticed Jonathan standing there awkwardly with his camera hanging from his neck, he snickered.

"Am I dreaming or is Byers the Freak actually standing here right now?" He slurred loudly, clearly intoxicated as Jonathan closed his eyes, annoyed, and took another deep breath in. "Holy shit, Carol! You won't believe who's here!"

"The Freak? No fucking way!" Jonathan could hear Carol's shrill voice from somewhere inside the house, somehow being louder than the music blasting around them. "Did he come for the party?"

"Did you come for the party, Freak?" Tommy asked, turning to look at Jonathan again, still with a smirk on his face before rolling his eyes as he remembered the fucking promise he had made Steve earlier that day. "I mean... Byers."