[ 𝚂𝚞𝚗 & 𝚁𝚊𝚒𝚗 ] ~ 𝙹𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝙱𝚢𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

VI - Awkward Silences

Ten minutes. That's how long the drive from Nancy Wheeler's house to Justin Henderson's house was supposed to take on the fastest route. Twenty minutes going the long way, with traffic.So why in the world did it feel like Justin and Jonathan had been in the car together for hours? She kept fidgeting with the hair-tie she kept on her wrist, snapping it softly against her skin over and over in a sort of hypnotic repetitive state. Every once in a while she'd glance away from the window and instead look over at Jonathan. His jaw was wound tight and his knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Jonathan sighed, taking in a deep breath and softening his harsh grip. 

 "Uhm. . .Sorry about-" Justin started, trying her best to relieve some of the silence that she was starting to find uncomfortable.  

"Don't be." Jonathan shook his head, staring straight ahead as his palms relaxed against the steering wheel. 

"No, no, I am. . .I feel like I stirred the pot or something with Nancy and just got her all. . .I don't know-" Justin shook her head softly, sighing. "Like I'm the reason she got all riled up, and all. . .upset." 

"It really wasn't your fault. Nancy's just. . .she's well- She's Nancy." Jonathan chuckled dryly, clearly faking it. 

"What does that even mean-" Justin sighed, slumping down in her seat. 

"She gets passionate about stuff. . .stuff like this. Stupid stuff, really. Well, last year it wasn't stupid but-" 

"Yeah, yeah, that's right. . .didn't you guys like. . .find out what happened to that weirdo girl who went missing? Everyone thought she ran away, right?" 

"Yeah. . .Nancy's friend, Barb. We uhm. . .we found out what happened to her and got the place that tried to cover up her death shut down. They were really bad people. . ."

"Well it's good you guys found proof though, right?" 

"Yeah, it is. We got closure for Barb's family. . .it was really hard on Barb's little sister. She kinda shut down after Barb went missing. She uhm- She used to be close with this kid, I think you probably know her, she's friends with Dustin, Lucy?"

"Yeah, I know Lucy, Dust talks about her all the time. He's basically obsessed, it's weird." Justin mumbled, shaking her head softly. 

"But Josie, er- Josette was friends with Lucy, like, really good friends. . .and then when Barb went missing the two never really. . .they didn't really talk again. I know that Lucy tried to go over there, but Josette just never came back out. . ." Jonathan sighed, running a hand over her face. "Finding out what happened to Barb helped a little though. . .with the whole family. Then they moved cause they couldn't really stand living here any longer. . .It really. . .it sucks."

"Yeah. . .It- That sounds bad." Justin nodded, looking out the window again. She rested her cheek against the palm of her hand, leaning the weight of her head onto her elbow. 

Jonathan cleared his throat. "Anyway- Most of the time, Nancy just gets overly freaked out about certain things and she focuses in on them and gets really into the whole thing. . .like this stupid rat story." 

"So. . .what's her thing with the rats again?"

"I'm not really sure- But. . .there's a chance they're from the upside-down and that's just. . .God that would be shitty." 

Justin sighed, just as they pulled up to her house. "Thanks for the lift." 

"No problem." Jonathan watched as Justin slung her bag over her shoulder and got out of the car. He leaned over, rolling the window down. "Hey! Uh- Justin- I'll uh- I'll see you at work!" 

She smiled, something that Justin Henderson didn't genuinely show often in front of people outside of her family. "Yeah, see you at work." She waved before turning back toward her house and walking up the long driveway. Jonathan sat there for a minute, just staring at her. He told himself he was watching and waiting for her to get all the way inside, to make sure she was safely home. 

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Word Count - 675

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Published - December 10, 2023

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{Author's Note}

Hello!

I apologize for writing such a short chapter! I've had a lot going on recently but wanted to get this one out since I had a chapter for Twigs and Dirt ready, so I figured that giving you guys something instead of waiting for even longer, would be better.I hope you still enjoyed the chapter and hopefully I'll have a longer one next time.

I hope you're having a wonderful day, evening or night!

<3 - Ghosty