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

24.

The two teens were still wide awake at four fifteen in the morning. The nurse, despite saying that Jonathan only had thirty minutes, didn't come back to remove him from the room. She had either forgot or had some other, more important situation to attend to.

They spent the majority of the time in silence and it wasn't as if Samantha hadn't tried to go to sleep. She had, but every time she closed her eyes, she was back there, in the Upside Down. And Barb was there too.

She'd jolt awake but of course, Jonathan was there, whispering comforting words into her ear, pulling her back down onto him, pulling her onto his chest where he would press a firm kiss to her forehead.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked, looking down at her, "You haven't slept."

Licking her dry lips, she deliberated with herself before nodding, "I was there."

"The Upside Down?"

"Yeah," she whispered, "I saw Barb. Then, I was screaming. I was being so loud and I thought that the sound of that and the fact that I was bleeding, I thought the monster was going to come find me for sure. And for a few, brief minutes, I wanted it to." She felt him tighten his grip on her but continued anyway, "I didn't want to be stuck there forever."

Jonathan kept his nose pressed against her hair, the faint smell of her cherry shampoo calming him slightly and when he spoke, he disturbed some of the hairs on her head, "I was so scared. I thought I wasn't going to see you again."

"I thought the same," she finally looked up at him, raising her finger to trace his lips.

"Go to sleep," Jonathan whispered, "You need it."

"No," she shook her head, "I don't want to go back there."

"Hey," he said firmly, "Listen to me. You need to sleep. Sammy, you're going to make yourself ill. You're safe here. Okay?"

"You'll be here when I wake up?" she asked to which he nodded and she decided that he was right and closed her eyes and not even five minutes later, she was asleep.

++

Samantha was being discharged the next day and while she was waiting for her parents to arrive, she was getting ready to go see Will.

Jonathan took her hand and the two of them walked down the corridor towards Will's room but she pulled him to a stop at the door, "Does...does he know that I was there?"

"He does." he nodded, "My mom told him that you were the one that found him. He's...he's real excited to see you."

"He is?" she asked, "Why? I didn't do anything."

Jonathan said nothing but leant down to kiss her softly before pushing the door open.

Will was sat up in the bed, a comic book in his hand and he looked up, a bright smile on his face when he saw it was his brother, "Jonathan!"

"Hey buddy." he smiled, pulling Samantha so she was standing beside him rather than behind, "Look who's here to see you."

"Samantha!" he cheered, placing the comic book down and before she could stop herself, the blonde had crossed the room and pulled him into a tight hug.

The last time she had seen him, he was barely alive and now he was sitting up in bed as if nothing had happened.

"Woah," he laughed and she felt his hands on her back, "What is this for?"

She pulled away, "I'm just so glad to see that you're okay."

Jonathan watched as the two of them conversing, Will getting excited to show her the pictures he had been working on while he had been in here and he smiled.

He had hoped that they would get on and looking at them now, he had no trouble in knowing that they would.

"Look at the mixtape that Jonathan got me," Will said excitedly, handing her the small rectangle, "It has all my favourite stuff on it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "Jonathan's real good at making them."

"He is?" she asked, looking over her shoulder to look at him, which made him shuffle his feet before meeting her gaze, "Maybe he could make me one."

He felt his face flush and he cleared his throat as he saw her parents walk past the doorway, "Your mom and dad are here."

The blonde got up from the bed, giving Will a high five before moving towards his brother, who took her hand.

"Tomorrow," he murmured, looking over her shoulder to make sure Will was minding his own business, "I'll come see you tomorrow."

Samantha nodded, smiling when he leant down to press a kiss to her forehead, "Tomorrow. I'll see you later, Will!"

"Bye!" he waved and once she was gone, he looked at Jonathan with a large smile on his face. "You're just friends, huh?" he asked, quoting the conversation that they had in his car almost a week ago.

The older Byer's boy rolled his eyes and moved to sit down on the bed, "Shut up!"

"Have you kissed her?" Will asked, "Huh? Do you love her?"

Will swiftly shut up though when Joyce came through the door, arms full of coffee and a grocery bag and she gave her boys a bright smile, "I have enough junk food here to last us a week. I thought we could have a pig out like we used to do when you were both younger. Oh, Jonathan, I saw Samantha as she was leaving and invited her over for dinner on Saturday night. And before you protest, I don't care. I want to get to know the girl that makes you smile like that!"

"It's because he loooooves her!" Will sang.

"Shut up!"