Strange Things Are Happening. (Jonathan Byers x OC) Wattys 2017

07.

Later that night, Samantha was sat on her window seat, looking over at the woods that were close to her house, where she could see the little dots of light that belonged to people who were out searching for Will.

She wondered if Jonathan was out there too.

She sat there until one by one, the flashlights went out and she thought that she couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

That being said, she pulled on her raincoat, shoved her feet into boots and grabbed a flashlight from under the kitchen sink.

"Where are you going?" her mom asked, catching her in the hallway, "It's past nine."

"I know," Samantha said quietly, "But mom, Will's still missing. I have to go out and look."

She sighed and looked at the clock on the wall, "Alright. But I want you back by ten thirty. Understand?"

Her daughter nodded eagerly and leant in to kiss her cheek, "Got it. Thanks mom!"

"Be careful!"

Samantha was so grateful that her parents were a lot more laid back than some others...Nancy's to be precise.

While her mother had pretty much confined her and Mike to the house, Samantha's parents were more than happy to let go out, as long as she was back by the curfew that they had given her.

Cutting across her neighbour's backyard, she climbed over the small fence that separated it from the woods and flicked on her flashlight.

"Will?" she called, starting out quiet but as she moved deeper into the trees, her voice got louder, until she was yelling, "Will!"

She knew that they had searched this area, but she thought maybe, just maybe, he was scared of all the people and if he heard that it was just her, he'd come out of his hiding place.

"Will!" Samantha yelled again but there was nothing, except the sound of water hitting the tree's leaves as it started to rain.

She scrambled to pull her hood up and gripped the flashlight tighter in her hand as she continued her way through the dark woods, tripping over some roots that had come out of the ground.

As she was walking backwards, she didn't realise that Jonathan Byers, who was also out looking for his brother in the rain, was walking backwards too, right in her direction.

She let out a loud scream when her back collided with his, spinning around to smack him with her torch.

"Woah, woah, woah!" he yelled, stopping her assault and realising who it was, he lowered his voice, "Samantha?"

"Jonathan?"

He stared down at her with wide eyes, "What the hell are you doing out here?"

"I-I'm looking for Will." she said quietly.

"On your own?" he snapped, "Anything could be out here. Anyone."

"I know," she said, "But I just thought maybe if he saw someone he knew, he wouldn't be scared. Maybe he'd come out."

Jonathan let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and ran his hand through his hair. She was just trying to help.

"Your parents know you're out?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Have to be back by ten thirty."

"Okay," he mumbled, "You wanna come with me? We'll scout the woods on the way back to my car and I'll take you home."

This was the most she had spoken to him. All she did was nod again and started following him through the dark woods.

"Your parents just let you come out here?" he asked after a couple minutes of silence.

"Yeah," she said over the rain, "I'm honest with them and they trust that I'll come back in time. I'm glad it was you I ran into out here."

"Me too," he mumbled, looking down at her with such an intense gaze, she had to look away.

At the sound of something in the bushes a few feet ahead of them, Samantha's hand shot out at the same time Jonathan's did, the two of them clutching each other in the darkness as they both looked around.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"I don't know," he said just as quiet but then he raised his voice, "Will!"

"Jonathan!" she breathed, "What if it's an animal? Or someone else."

Someone else it was. Jonathan stepped in front of Samantha as the harsh light of a flashlight ended up in his face and after it was lowered the two teens realised that it was Chief Hopper.

"Hopper?" Jonathan asked.

"Byers?" the chief of police snarled, storming his way over to the two of them and Samantha tucked herself further behind Jonathan, "What the hell are you two doing out here? I thought I told you to stay with your mom. And you," he looked at her, "The hell? I don't need anymore kids going missing on me."

"W-we were just trying to help," Samantha stuttered and the older man sighed, running his hand over his face.

"I get it kid, I do but the best thing you can do for me right now, is stay out of trouble. Go home. Both of you." he said sternly, looking at Jonathan, "Now."

He escorted the two of them back to Jonathan's car, ignoring Samantha when she told them that she could just go back the way she came, that it'd be quicker than this.

Arriving at the car, the blonde watched as the two males exchanged a quiet conversation, blowing warm air into her hands as she waited.

Jonathan unlocked the car and when he opened the door for her, she blushed, looking down so her hair hid her face as she climbed in.

She wasn't expecting that.

Jonathan, like he had done earlier that night, whacked the heat up and started heading towards her house.

"How's your mom doing?" she asked, stumbling over her words when he looked at her, "I mean, I know that this must be horrible for the both of you...I'm just going to be quiet."

He gave her a smile, "Yeah. She's freaking out."

"How about your dad?" she asked again, immediately regretting it when she saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"No," he replied, "Don't worry. My dad, he's kind of an asshole. He's not in the picture."

"Oh," she said, "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologising," he said, "Really, it's okay."

The drive to her house was over quicker than she would have liked and squinting at her watch in the dark, she saw that it was ten twenty five and she looked at Jonathan, "Thank you for the ride. Again."

"Don't mention it," he replied, giving her another smile, "But hey, listen, don't go out looking for Will in the dark anymore, yeah?"

"But I want to help," she protested.

"I know," he said softly, "And I appreciate that but you could get hurt and I'd hate for that to happen. Especially to you."