ANGELA [STRANGER THINGS]

nine.

" IF YOU SAY THAT YOU ARE MINE, I'LL BE THERE 'TIL THE END OF TIME "

—

It had been a whole day.

An entire day and nothing seemed to change. You would think that it would be different now that she was gone. The world should be quiet and dark, but Jonathan didn't notice a difference. The world went on without her, it was him that was hanging back.

The leaves still fell from the trees, the wind was still cold, and people still walked along the streets to run errands. But Jonathan seemed to be the only one that was different. It was as if time kept ticking but he didn't go anywhere.

He never talked to her before, so the absence of her wasn't very abundant, but he never once denied that he could feel an empty space.

He sat silently in his bedroom. It was early in the morning and his mother wasn't home. Nancy and him had plans later to get some weapons to save Will and Angela. He wasn't sure why he woke up early, but for some reason he did and he couldn't go back to sleep.

He sat in the cold. He hadn't bothered getting dressed. He simply put on an old shirt with his boxers and sat at the foot of his bed, staring and thinking about Angela and Will and the monster.

If Angela died trying to save Will, Jonathan wasn't sure if he could live with himself after what he said to her. He could have believed her, but he didn't know any better. Although she was right when she said that a stranger like her had no reason to lie. He called her crazy. He was just like everyone else now.

Angela was pure. He could see it in her, and he wasn't sure why he turned her help away. Will was dead, but then he wasn't, and then Jonathan was left feeling guilty for practically throwing Angela away.

The light on his desk flickered. Jonathan didn't really pay any mind to it, but when his speakers hummed to life he jumped.

His eyes turned towards the stereo system, where the red light that indicated it was on glowed. Jonathan furrowed his eyebrows, scooting closer to the humming speakers.

Softly, the last song that was playing started to play again. It was the song Jonathan showed Will before the accident. There was a sudden warmth beside him, making him shiver, but there was nothing there.

"Do you have anything by The Smiths?"

It was just a whisper, but Jonathan heard it loud and clear. He didn't speak. His hands moved to grab the tape, and quietly he exchanged it with The Clash.

Back to the Old House softly played through the speakers. Jonathan never really listened to The Smiths, he just saw the tape one day and thought he would give it a try, but he never got around to it.

When it came to a break in the song, he finally spoke. "Angela, are you there?"

He was met with nothing but the words of the song.

"And you never knew,
how much I really liked you,
because I never even told you,
oh, and I meant to,
are you still there?"

There was a breath down his neck. He could feel her there beside him, but every time he put his hand there to touch her, the space was empty.