Shatter [Jonathan Byers] Stranger Things II

XLI: Isolated

i·so·lat·ed

adjective

having minimal contact or little in common with others.

Nancy ran out the door after telling her mother that she was spending the night at a friend's house, her passive parents didn't even ask when she would be back. Although she sometimes wished they cared more, it made times like this easier. Sneaking out with the hopes to get caught by Hawkin's Lab, it was the craziest thing Nancy had ever decided to do, to willingly do at least. Not even monster hunting the year before seemed as scary as this, because back then they had it in their minds that they could kill the monster. Men were different, the people at the lab might not think twice about killing them and covering it up, it would be water under the bridge for them.

She slid into Jonathan's car, the ominous thought that Emilia had sat there hundreds of times before her, and that she was invading that space haunted her. Clearing her throat, she glanced at Jonathan and asked, "No Emilia?"

"No," he replied sharply.

Nancy bit her lip, and looked right ahead at the road as they began to move along. "Look, what I said about Steve... I didn't say that to drive a wedge between you two, really..."

Jonathan shrugged, "I know. Are you going to do this or what?"

"Yes," Nancy nodded, but couldn't kick the feeling out that she was intruding, stepping where she wasn't wanted. It was clear from Jonathan's shortness that something had happened between him and Emilia, which Nancy never intended. She wondered, in the silence of the drive, why she had bothered telling Jonathan that the kiss meant something to Steve.

Then she figured it out; misery loves company.

Fourth period the next day, all Emilia could think of was Will. While Jonathan had plagued her mind the previous two days, now all that crossed her mind was if Will was okay. Joyce had given Emilia the keys to her car that morning, and Emilia parked it at the middle school, where she picked up her own car. They'd hoped Jonathan would have returned home to help them with the vehicle exchanging, but he never showed up.

Having a spare block, she debated what she was going to do, whether she should go home or go to see Will and Joyce. What surprised her was when she ended up at the gymnasium, siting in the closed up stands, her hands in her lap, watching Steve on the basketball courts. To her dismay, although she knew he'd be there, Billy was also out there on the courts, constantly hounding Steve.

Emilia found herself silently cheering on Steve, and audibly groaning when Billy knocked him down. Defensive as she watched Billy lean over Steve and mutter something to him, then forcefully shove him back down. Steve got back up, eyes burning into Billy's back, but then he spotted Emilia in the stands. Nodding his head in her direction, he offered a half-assed smile and then went back into the game.

School ended and Steve disappeared for a while, Emilia stayed in the stands knowing that he might not come back in -or worse Billy might come in- and embraced the silence. As she climbed down the stands as she began to feel too lonesome, too isolated for her liking. That's when the boy's locker door opened and Steve, hair wet and limp instead of his usual wild look, came out. School was over, neither of them had anyone else to go to -even Hopper had been out later than usual, Emilia hadn't seen him in days.

Everyone's life was turned upside down, and Emilia felt like she'd rather face the real Upside Down with everyone she loved and cared about, then suffer this strange loneliness any longer.

"Tommy said Nancy and Jonathan skipped town..." Steve said, spitting out Tommy's name with a prejudice that made Emilia glow inside. Normally, she would never have boasted about being a part of a friendship crumbling, but Tommy didn't deserve someone like Steve in his life, he only deserved Carol.

Emilia shrugged, "I guess I can confirm that, since Jonathan didn't go to his house last night. I was there with... with Joyce."

"Everything okay?"

"Nothing's okay," Emilia's words felt deflated, like she had been saying them to often these last few days. It felt like when she went back to school after her mum died, people still didn't care who she was, no one cared to try and cheer her up after her loss, so lost and alone.

Steve sighed, not knowing the full extent of what was going on. He had no idea what happened to Will, no idea that all of their deepest fears were slowly crawling their way into their dreams at night, turning them into nightmares, and turning nightmares into reality. All Emilia knew was that Will had stayed home from school, and it was only a matter of time before they could really determine if something had gone horribly wrong.

"So," Steve gestured his hands wide, unsure what he was trying to say. He was once so good talking to girls, and around Emilia he felt stumped. Although he could chat the ear off anyone else in the high school and keep them interested, there was no bullshitting Emilia. "What do we do?"

Emilia glanced up at him, "I guess we move on?"

Steve dropped his head, because he knew already that he would heal one day. But for some reason, it hurt him knowing that Emilia and Jonathan weren't the way they were. And it was his fault.

"No," Steve said as he shook his head. "Jonathan is mad at you, because of what? Because I'm an idiot?"

Emilia laughed, surprising herself with the sound of it. "Something like that, but don't take all the blame."

Steve slung his bag over his shoulder and then stepped up to Emilia, placing one hand on her shoulder in a way that gave off a leadership vibe, or perhaps that of a teammate. In that simple touch, Emilia knew that the kiss couldn't have meant anything, and in that moment Steve knew it too. He knew that he wanted it to mean something, so that it would hurt Nancy, but now, now that the damage was done, he knew he had just been drunk and stupid.

"Look, we're going to fix this, okay?" he suggested.

"How?" she asked.

"Well, if I were Jonathan, and I heard about what happened like this, I would want a sincere apology. I know you didn't do anything! I'm just saying, it would make me feel better. I think, honestly, I'd want you to stay away from... from me."

"But Steve, right now, you're my only friend," Emilia admitted.

Steve scratched his head, "Okay, but when they come back... if they come back? Anyways, that's what I would want. Now you try. What do you think Nancy would want to... to take me back."

His words came off so desperate, Emilia had to look down at the polished floor below. She sighed, trying to get her head into Nancy's. What would someone like Nancy want?

"Flowers? And an apology."

"That's it?"

Emilia shrugged, "Let's hope."

I'm so excited to write the rest of this book. I have 43 chapters written, I need to get on writing more, but I'm back to working 8-7 every day. So right now I'm currently up at 530 AM to get ahead in some of my writing and reading. Don't forget, I also have a Star Wars/Kylo Ren story, as well as an original work that is a loose spin off of Snow White!

Question of the Day: What sort of apology would you expect from a significant other in this case?