≫ stranger things oneshots

bad habits ≫ jancy

bad habits

o o o

Every day during lunch, Nancy Wheeler snuck outside with Steve and his friends so they could smoke without getting caught. She knew the smoke was slowly killing her, but honestly she didn't care. If she wanted to breathe in chemicals every day, she was going to. America's a free country, so who had the right to stop her?

"I think it's super hot that Nancy smokes, don't you?" Steve asked, slinging his arm over his girlfriend's shoulder. Nancy frowned. She wasn't trying to look 'hot', she was trying to erase her stress.

Steve sucked in a long breath, then let it out slowly. The smoke from his cigarette floated around Nancy's head for a few seconds before disappearing into thin air. Everyone was too absorbed with their cigarettes to acknowledge Steve's comment, which was fine with Nancy. She hated when his friends pretended to like her just to make him happy. It was insulting.

Just when Nancy was about to stomp out her burned stub, a janitor rounded the corner. He was holding a large trash bag in one hand, and a broom in the other. Nancy froze.

As the janitor got closer to the guilty students, Steve's eyes got wide. He tossed his cigarette to the ground and motioned for everyone to follow him, which they did.

Everyone but Nancy.

She watched her 'friends' run off. Maybe it would've been smart of her to follow, but she couldn't muster up a reason to. No matter what she did, she knew that somehow she'd get in trouble for it. Might as well stay put and get caught willingly.

"Hey!" The janitor finally understood what was going on, but it was too late. Him and Nancy just stood there, watching as the irresponsible teenagers turned a corner and disappeared from view.

Nancy turned toward the janitor and held up her hands in surrender. "Got me," she sighed.

o o o

Nancy plopped down at her desk and set her purse on the floor. Another day, another detention, she thought. If she'd gotten detention a few months ago, things would not be good for her. Her mother would flip, her best friend would be disappointed, and her self esteem would basically die.

Now, however, nobody cared. Mike was depressed and antisocial, her parents were closer to getting a divorce than ever, and her best friend was dead. So yeah, people could afford to cut her some slack.

"What are you doing here, Wheeler?" a voice asked from behind. Nancy turned and grinned.

"I could ask you the same thing, Byers," she teased, raising an eyebrow. Jonathan laughed and shook his head. Nancy thought it was cute how his long hair flopped around when he did that.

"I asked first," Jonathan pointed out. "So, by default, you have to answer."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "The janitor caught me smoking during lunch," she said. "I didn't run away like a coward, so now I'm stuck here." She turned to look out the window and sighed. "Not that it even matters," she mumbled.

Jonathan scooted his chair up so that it was aligned with Nancy's. "Uh, smoking, will kill you, you know," he accused. "They're cancer sticks."

Nancy raised her eyebrows and smirked. "Oh really?" she scoffed, leaning back in her chair. "Says the guy who smokes."

Jonathan lifted his hands in mock surrender. "Touché," he said. "I'm just saying, cigarettes are a bad habit. I should've never started using them."

Nancy nodded. Everyone always told her how bad smoking was, and she knew they were right. If she could, she'd stop. For now, though, they were her only escape.

"Wait, why'd you start then?" she asked. "I mean, if you didn't want to, you didn't have to."

"Well..." Jonathan paused. He looked down at his lap and let out a long breath. "Lonnie kind of forced me to."

"What?" Nancy gasped. "How?"

"He would always smoke in front of me," Jonathan started. "Usually I just ignored it, 'cause Mom did it too. But one day, while I was eating breakfast, Lonnie asked me if I wanted to try it out. I told him no, but that wasn't what he wanted to hear. He told me he'd force Will to if I was too prissy to try them myself, so I agreed."

Nancy reached forward and grabbed Jonathan's hand tightly. "That's horrible," she whispered. And she thought her life sucked.

They sat there for a while, holding hands in silence. Nobody else was in the room, and they were glad for the privacy.

"I punched Steve," Jonathan blurted, still staring at the floor. "That's why I got detention."

"Oh," Nancy said quietly. How was she supposed to react to that? "Um... can I ask why?"

"Him and those idiots were talking about you," he growled. His hand tightened around hers and his jaw clenched at the memory. "They said you were only following Steve around because nobody else wanted you, and they called you a pushover for getting caught outside. I lost my temper and punched him." He lifted his hand, revealing his bloodied knuckle.

Nancy stared at Jonathan, stunned. That's what Steve thought of her? That she was a needy pushover who had no friends? "You did that? For me?" she asked.

"I had to, Nancy," Jonathan insisted, finally looking into her eyes. "He has no right to talk about you that way."

"I'm not mad at you," Nancy laughed, her cheeks red. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek lightly.

"I think it's pretty hot," she whispered into his ear.

a/n
longest one so far! ((949 words)) *fist bumps self* next two updates will be mileven ;)