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

25.

Saturday came around and Jonathan woke up that morning knowing that he had to take Samantha out on a date. There was no way he could have her come for dinner without having even had their first date together.

So after taking a quick shower and making his family breakfast, Will had come home Thursday afternoon, he rifled through his jeans for the number Samantha had given him the day he came to see her at home.

He made sure that his mom and Will were out of the room before dialling, waiting patiently for someone to pick up.

"Hello?"

He cursed under his breath when it was Samantha's father that answered. If it had been her mother, he'd be fine but her dad, no.

"Hello?" Mr Wheeler repeated and Jonathan quickly cleared his throat.

"Hi, Mr Wheeler. It's Jonathan. Jonathan Byers. Would it be okay to talk to Samantha?" he asked, holding his breath until the older man told him to wait while he fetched her.

"Samantha, it's that Johnny Byers kid."

"Dad, I've told you before, it's Jonathan!"

He couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face when he heard her voice then he heard her take the phone from him.

"Jonathan."

"Samantha," he said, smile growing, "Are you busy today?"

"Today? I don't think so, why?"

"I want to take you out," he paused, "On a date. If that's okay?"

On the other end of the line, Samantha could feel the butterflies start in her stomach, turning away so her back was to her parents, "And what will we be doing on this date?"

"Whatever you want," he replied, leaning up on the wall, "We could go bowling? See a movie? Or we could go for a walk. It's up to you."

"A walk sounds lovely," she murmured, looking out of the window to see that the sun was shining, "Would that be okay?"

"Of course it is," he said softly, "Will I pick you up at twelve? Make sure you bring a jacket. The sun's out but it's still chilly."

"Got it. Twelve is perfect." she agreed, "I'll see you then."

As they both hung up, they couldn't help but grin. They hadn't exactly met in the most conventional way but now, now they had the chance to be normal teens and go out on their first date.

++

Was Samantha stupid for feeling nervous? She had been with Jonathan almost every day for the past week but this felt different. It was gonna be just the two of them.

Her mom helped her get ready, picking out a cute outfit and then Caroline helped her with her hair, pulling the blonde strands into a pretty braid.

At exactly twelve, there was a knock on the door and Caroline placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "Have a good time. Make sure he's respectful and don't let him pressure you into doing things you don't want to do."

"Mom," she giggled, "Have you met Jonathan? He's the kindest, most respectful guy I've ever met."

"I know," she agreed, "But I feel like I have to say it."

After kissing her mom's cheek, she jogged down the stairs after grabbing her camera, seeing Jonathan talking quietly with her dad.

"Hey," she grinned as she reached the bottom, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," he smiled, then his face flushed red as he pulled a rose from behind his back, "Sorry it's only one. It's all I could afford."

She took it, careful to avoid the thorns with a bashful smile on her face, "Thank you. It's beautiful."

"I'll put it in some water for you," Caroline said, coming up behind them and she looked pointedly at David, "Come help me."

He reluctantly followed and Jonathan leant down to whisper in Samantha's ear, "I don't think he likes me."

Giggling, she wrapped her arm around his and headed for the door, "He's just a little more protective after my whole...branch incident. Is it okay that I brought my camera?"

"Of course it is," he replied.

Jonathan opened the car door for her and jogged around the car to climb in, waving at Samantha's mom who was watching eagerly from the window.

"So," she said quietly once he had started driving, making him look at her, "Where are we going for our walk?"

"I thought that I'd park at the bottom of the trail that leads to the lookout point." he replied.

"Oh I haven't been there yet," Samantha said, a teasing smile on her face, "But Nancy's told me that it's where a lot of folks go to make out."

Jonathan spluttered a laugh and licked his lips, "I...really?"

"Yeah...is that your intentions with me, Mr Byers?"

"What? No!" he stumbled over his words and Samantha started laughing, placing her hand on his arm.

"Jonathan, relax. I'm kidding."

They fell into a comfortable silence and it didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination and once they had climbed out of the car, Samantha put her camera around her neck before taking his hand.

They started on their walk, hands swinging in between them when Jonathan suddenly remembered that they had a project due in less that two weeks and he cleared his throat, "We haven't started our project yet. We sho-"

She smiled, reaching up to place her finger on his lips, "Jonathan? Don't talk about school. Not now."

"You're right," he nodded, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," she said quickly, "But don't worry. We'll get it started on Monday. In fact..."

She let go of his hand and raised her camera to her eye to take a photo of him.

"Oh no," he protested, shaking his head as he blocked the lens with his hand, "I don't do pictures of myself."

"Aw, please!" she begged, pushing his hand away, "You're so handsome!"

"Samantha," he whined, feeling his face heat up when she leant up and pressed an unsuspecting kiss to his lips and when she fluttered her eyelashes at him, he groaned, "God, you make it so hard to say no."

She wordlessly brought her camera up and snapped a photo.