Stonathan ❤️

121

NOT MINE!!

After Chester's funeral, the kids didn't really call on him. Steve figured that was it since they were so adamant about party and loyalty and they'd known Jonathan longer. It didn't matter if they didn't have the full context. Dustin and Lucas had heard yelling, seen how tense they were; Mike already hated him half the time; and with Will it wouldn't even be a question, since it was his brother.

The full context probably wouldn't have made it much better, seeing as Steve had stopped just short of calling Jonathan diseased.

You did this to me.

As soon as it left his mouth, he'd seen Jonathan's face changing. Hardening.

If the kids knew that, they would hate him for sure.

So for the next two weeks, Steve listened to less cassettes―everything felt ruined now because he'd gone to the Byers' house with the stupid hope that he'd get to share them with Jonathan―and drank a lot more beer.

It was a welcome disruption when Dustin, Lucas, and a girl Steve had never seen before came by to show off their Halloween costumes. He had a math test the next day, so he'd actually taken it easy on the drinking; but Lucas and Dustin still exchanged a glance he couldn't quite interpret at the sight of his trash can piled high with empties and takeout boxes.

"The porch light's off, shitheads. That means I don't have any candy."

Lucas and Dustin still struck a few poses in the kitchen, standing back-to-back and raising their ghost-vacuums― proton packs , they corrected him―snapping them at Steve to show that they really worked. They also fought to be the ones to introduce their new friend, Max Mayfield, presenting her to Steve like she was some kind of exotic bird.

He asked where Starsky and Hutch were and was quickly told that it was Winston and Egon , and that they'd gone home early because Will didn't feel well and Mike was in one of his moods .

Steve wanted to point out that Mike was always moody, in his experience; but when he'd privately agreed with Dustin during their last spat, Mike had thrown his exact words back in his face a few weeks later― How can you say I'm lame when you're the one hanging out with children?

"Jonathan took them home," Dustin supplied, which was met with an indiscreet elbow to the ribs from Lucas; but both of them looked to Steve expectantly.

Steve wished they didn't have this Max kid with them so he could ask exactly how much they'd heard. By the looks on their faces, he would assume a lot : Jonathan always said the Byers' walls were thin from shitty insulation, but Steve had thought it was mostly a joke.

After a second, all that Steve could think to say was, "Cool. Do you need a ride home?"

Their eyes slid over the trashcan again. Lucas answered for them this time. "I think we're good. We've gotta shake down your neighbors for full-sized bars first anyways."

―

The visit was nice enough, but Steve didn't expect to see anything more of the kids, at least for a while. It came as a shock when a frantic Dustin called him at six PM that Saturday and only said, "Come over. Do you still have your spiky bat? Bring it. I need you to come over, Steve" before hanging up.

Knowing Dustin, he either needed Steve to hold the flashlight while he tinkered with an old radio or a cataclysmic event was occurring; there was really no way to tell until he showed up.