Shatter [Jonathan Byers] Stranger Things II

IV: Distance

dis·tance

noun

an amount of space between two things or people.

Emilia rang through a customer, a smile on her face that tugged at the muscles in her cheek. Her jaw ached from all the smiling; she didn't think she had smiled so much in her life than she did in a single shift working with the general public. And if she wasn't smiling, she heard about it. All the old ladies telling her it was rude not to greet them with a toothy grin, the older and somewhat questionable men would tell her she looked prettier when she smiled. That would always put a pained expression on her face, one she had to force into a smile. Now, she just kept one on her face for the eight hour shifts she'd taken since summer started.

She grabbed the next item on the conveyor belt, not looking at the new customer, until his frame came into view and she realized she knew this person. She knew his build, his scent, the way he approached her, she knew every little detail about him. Jonathan walked through to the till and smiled sheepishly at Emilia.

"Hey stranger," Jonathan said.

Immediately Emilia felt the tension; she'd been with El and Hopper so much, and her time spent with Jonathan as of late had been nonexistent. "I'm not a stranger..."

"I had to spend," he paused, grabbed the item he was about to purchase, which was a loaf of bread, " .78 cents just to talk to you."

She dipped her head, unsure how to respond to the accusations.

"Look, let's get out of here," he suggested, a look in his eye that Emilia had seen in Joyce's before. When she had a wild idea.

"I'm on shift until eight," she replied, as if her life revolved around work. She hated the words the moment they came out; looking at Jonathan trying so hard to get his own girlfriend's attention, she felt so pathetic. Why had she let it come to this?

"School starts up soon, and we haven't gone to take those pictures you wanted so badly," he realized that there was a line up behind him now. "Book next week off, we're going on a trip."

Emilia smiled brightly at the idea, it was so welcoming, like hands grabbing her own and pulling her away from the mundane. She'd been faced with the boring reality of work and the upcoming school, that part of her actually missed the excitement of what happened the year before. Hawkins was so boring, the Upside Down had given everyone a little perspective.

"Okay," she nodded, "One week?"

"Yeah, that should be plenty of time," he looked giddy with excitement as he spoke. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out the change for the bread. Emilia took it, their hands brushing against one another, and it lit a spark inside of her that she hadn't felt since the year before, when things were anew. When they weren't so distant from one another.

"Move it along!" someone grumbled.

Jonathan leaned over the till and kissed Emilia, "Come over tonight, I'll show you what I have planned."

For the rest of the shift, Emilia actually had a real smile on her lips.

The rickety old car pulled into the driveway, and Emilia killed the engine before it could do it on its own. The car had a mind of its own, and often did what it wanted. The little old Ford Pinto gave Emilia anxiety; if she were to be rear ended, the car would not survive impact, and they were known to explode. She wondered what the stats were for two people in one family dying in the same way; car accidents with explosions. Somehow, the thought didn't bother her, but she took back roads to avoid the oh-so-busy Hawkins traffic either way. She named the little Pinto Seabiscuit, for its reliability to do what it wanted, like a horse might.

Emilia no longer knocked, she just entered the house and kicked off her shoes. The house was dark, but there were candles lighting the hallway. A smile broke out onto her face as she thought about the effort and thought put into this, and then the guilt raked over her like fingernails on a chalkboard; she'd been a terrible girlfriend. Following the trail of candles, which made Emilia nervous that they might catch the house on fire, she was led to Jonathan's room.

Not entirely sure what to expect when she opened the door, Emilia opened it slowly. Seated on the floor with pictures scattered all around him, Jonathan was lost in thought. His delayed reaction came at last, looking up at Emilia. Scrambling to his feet, he clutched a large piece of paper in his hand, folded so many times that the creases were beginning to tear. Stepping over the images, he snuck his hand underneath her hair, grazing over her cheek, and kissed her so passionately that Emilia's heart rate sky rocketed.

When they broke, Emilia was breathless, "Jonathan, what is all this about?"

"We're going on a road trip, I-I planned to have this more... organized by the time you got here, but I got distracted by some of the pictures we've taken. From start to now, look at all we've done," he gestured so briefly at the pictures, "I want to try something, something new."

"Like?" She grinned playfully.

"We're going to drive," he held out the map, "to Lake Michigan, we're going to stop at these places, and leave these pictures behind. Some of the best ones we have taken -don't worry I have copies."

"Why?" Emilia looked incredulous.

"I want to inspire others," he looked nervous, awkward. "To show what can come from love."

When she didn't reply, too stunned to speak, Jonathan fumbled over his words, his hands accenting what he was trying to say. "I just think it would, uhm, fun... Just the two of us. If you don't want to, I get it... Things have been different between us for a while... I just don't... I don't want to lose you."

"Oh, Jonathan!" Emilia found words quickly after that, she never wanted to lose Jonathan. "You won't, that's not why I've been away so much, it's just... It's Hopper."

"He's a grown man, Emilia."

She ached to tell him, to tell him about El. But she had made a promise to Hopper that no one would know; she could not expose El, she was vulnerable. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Jonathan in a tight hug. She hoped actions would truly speak louder than words, because the last thing she wanted was to lose Jonathan. She'd lost her mother, she'd lost what once existed in her father, she couldn't lose the scraped together family that had become more than her biological family had ever been.

"When do we leave?" She asked, hoping that Jonathan wouldn't dig too deep into everything. She'd be able to tell him one day, right? 

I can't believe that "Shutter" is almost at 80K reads, thank you to everyone who read it and who is reading this! This story is almost at 1K, which is amazing, it's only been out for a week! I'll be giving out dedications to everyone who has commented, because you make this story :)

I've got 30 chapters planned, that's when the story will officially connect to season 2. I'm aiming to make this story 60 chapters, just like "Shutter". And guys, I've got Steve and Billy written in there!

Question of the day: Have you ever had to keep a big secret from a loved one?