[ 𝚂𝚞𝚗 & 𝚁𝚊𝚒𝚗 ] ~ 𝙹𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝙱𝚢𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

V - The Parents are Fighting

"It's bullshit." Nancy huffed from the passenger seat of Jonathan's car. "So, according to Tom, Driscoll's just a schizophrenic? And that rat is just a rat? And it's all, what, some big coincidence?!" 

Jonathan sighed, his annoyance clear on his face as he continued driving and half ignoring his girlfriend's rant.

"You know what I think? I think Tom was on drugs." 

"What!?" Jonathan finally gave Nancy the attention she was after, turning to look at her while he continued down the road. Justin instinctively kicked his seat, his head snapping back straight nearly immediately. 

"Did you see him! I mean, he was sweating like crazy, a- and his palms were clammy, he looked awful." 

Jonathan gave a dry laugh, shaking his head with a look of disbelief 

"Oh my god, Mr. Holloway's not on drugs for God's sake. You're just a fucking idiot." Justin huffed from her spot behind Jonathan. 

"Oh, is this funny to you?" Nancy asked both Jonathan and Justin.

"No." Jonathan softly shook his head, a waver in his voice.

"A little, yeah." Justin said at the same time, no uncertainty in her tone. 

"No, it's just kind of incredible."

"Incredible?" Nancy asked in disbelief.

Justin almost scoffed at her audacity.

"Yeah, incredible how you just continue to convince yourself." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nancy shot back at her boyfriend.

"Aww, how cute. A lover's spat." Justin mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms under her chest. 

"I told you over and over to drop this story. That it was a bad idea!" 

"Correction," Justin started, grinning slightly, "we told you over and over. You're just too proud of yourself to listen."

Nancy scoffed. "Stay out of it, Henderson!" 

"But you refused, and now, if it weren't for Justin, I'd be screwed!" 

"It's a summer job, your life would hardly be over." Nancy countered.

"God." Justin scoffed, a smile forming on her face as she softly shook her head. "Do you ever think of anyone other than yourself?" 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nancy scoffed - yet again.

"I don't live in a two-story house on Maple Street." Jonathan started. "My dad doesn't earn six figures. Hell, he isn't even around." 

"The money I get from my job is 90% spent on making sure my little brother is happy, the other 10% goes to making sure I get my meds." Justin added in. "Because my mom barely makes enough to keep our house and the three of us fed, and my dad walked out on us for 10 years before showing back up just to fucking die and leave us with his medical debt."

"God, here comes the Oliver Twist routine."

"Mortgage, college tuition." Jonathan continued. "You know, they're real things, Nancy. Things that you don't care about, only because you don't have to."

"I didn't realize I lived in a bubble!" Nancy yelled.

"Well you do!" Jonathan shouted back, his voice only barely raised.

"You're a stuck up, spoiled, rich kid brat." Justin huffed.

""You want everything handed to you on a silver platter. I- I mean we're just interns, Nancy! Interns! Except for Justin who's somehow kept that job for over a year. And you know how? Because she followed the rules! What did you expect, huh? That you would make star reporter in a month? Crack the big case?"

"You sound just like them. You realize that, right? Just like Bruce and those assholes-"

"Yeah, yeah, those assholes gave us jobs."

"Is that what that was? that was humiliating!" 

"Wow, really? You hardly even know humiliating, Nancy." Justin huffed. 

"Oh, shut up! You're not better than me like you think you are, Henderson. You're just as stuck as the rest of us in this shitty town." 

"You think? Really, Nancy? You think, huh? Yeah, well if I had lost my job today I'd be stuck here for just about a week before I flew off the edge." 

"What's that even mean! I swear, you're so creepily-cryptic, you weirdo!"

"It means that this job is the only way I get my anti-fucking-depressants!" 

The whole car went silent for a moment at Justin's admittance before Nancy scoffed again and turned properly in her chair. "Yeah, right." Nancy huffed out another 'humiliating'.

"Yeah, the real world sucks. Deal with it like the rest of us." Jonathan murmured, his words clearly pointed at Nancy.

"You don't know what it's like."

"Neither do you." Jonathan and Justin returned at the same time. They had different reasons, but their words held true. And in all honesty, Justin was the only one who really got what both of them were going through, and so much more. 

"Well, then, I guess we just don't understand each other anymore." Nancy whispered, tears in her eyes as she said the words.

"Yeah, I guess not." Jonathan practically nodded.

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Word Count - 742

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Published - November 14, 2023

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