It wasn't a rarity for you and Jarad to hang out on late nights or extremely early hours when neither of you could sleep. You had a horrible sleep schedule accompanied with nightmares and Jarad was pretty much the same.
One night, when a certain nightmare became too much for you, you ditched home. You wrapped yourself up in your comfiest clothes and walked right out. As you walked, the cool breeze helped calm your nerves.
You couldn't remember exactly what the nightmare was about, but it haunted your every thought. Most of your nightmares did stick with you for awhile, always making it hard for you to fall back asleep.
You continued to walk for what seemed like hours until you found a small park. It was completely deserted except for one person sitting on the swings. As you began to approach them, you noticed it was Jarad Higgins
"Hey." You called out to him.
He picks his head up and upon seeing your approaching figure, he gives you a confused look. "Hey Y/n." He said.
"You know who I am?"
By now you're walking over to the swing next to him and taking a seat. He turns slightly causing a creak to come from the bar above the two of you.
"Of course. We've had ever class together for two years straight."
"I figured you were too busy with football or keeping your popularity up that you'd never notice me."
He shrugged his shoulders and faces forward once more. You sit in a comfortable silence for a while before you end up breaking it.
"What are you doing out here so late?"
"I could ask you the same." He responds with ease causing you to roll your eyes.
"Can't sleep. Too many nightmares." You admit quietly.
"Me too."
You look over at him and notice something you hadn't noticed before. He not only looked exhausted but even looked a bit defeated. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.
"I'm sorry."
You understood how much not sleeping sucked. It became so frustrating when your brain just won't shut off and get some rest. He sighed quietly and you moved to get up but he soon stopped you.
"Can you stay and hang out with me for awhile? I don't really want to be alone right now." He admits.
You nod your head, already moving back towards the swing. You two sat and talked all night long. When the sun finally rose over the horizon, you had become well acquainted with each other.
Jarad had walked you home and left with a promise that you two would hang out again soon. Immediately you headed upstairs and fell asleep in an instant, thoughts of Jarad swirling in your head.
After that, you and Jarad were inseparable. If he wasn't with his usual popular crowd, he was with you. He drove you to and from school everyday and if you weren't at his house, he was at yours.
So when you couldn't sleep again tonight, Jarad wasn't surprised when he found you on his doorstep. He opened the door with a tired smile and pulled you inside instantly.
You fell into his warm embrace as he lead you over to the couch in his living room. You two sat across from each other without a word.
"Nightmares?" He asks noticing your distant expression.
You nod quietly and he takes your hand in his and pulls you towards him. You rest your head on his lap and he plays with the ends of your hair.
"Wanna talk about it?" He asks quietly. You shake your head no and he nods slowly in understanding.
Jarad had definitely changed since he first met Y/n Before he met her he was chasing after Ashley Wheeler which only ended in heartbreak on his end. He was also constantly worried about his popularity which he threw away after everything with the demogorgons.
The memories of those nights still haunted him. He lost sleep over it and nightmares of those evil creatures haunted the nights he did sleep. However when he had Y/n next to him, everything was peaceful.
The nightmares were far from his mind and sleep overcame him in an instant. He did the same for her without even knowing it. The minute she saw his face, everything seemed to be okay. She realized that Jarad was here and always would be and that's all she needed for the nightmares to fade immediately.
The two had fallen for each other without realizing it. There was such a calmness to the two of them that they couldn't find anywhere else. Everything was chaotic. School, home, their small town, everything. But they found peace in the presence of each other.
Without realizing it, Y/n had started to fall asleep. Jarad took that as his cue to move so she could lay down on the couch. He carefully moves her head from his lap and places it on the pillow next to him.
He pulls a throw from next to the couch and places it over you carefully. When he stands back up, a small smile crosses his face at the sight of you. Even in a dead sleep, He thought you were the most beautiful girl in the world.
He leans down and places a light kiss on your forehead before heading over to the loveseat across the room. He gets in a comfortable position and attempts to fall back asleep.
When he wakes up again, a few hours have passed. He glances over to where you were and notices the upset expression on your face.
"She's having a nightmare." He thought to himself.
Just as the thought crosses his mind, she starts to flail slightly. Jarad sits up with a worried expression on his features. He watches as you begin to thrash against the blanket wrapped around you.
Jarad quickly gets up from his place across the room and walks over to you. He kneels down and places a hand on your shoulder slowly shaking you to try and wake you up.
Suddenly you sit straight up with a frantic expression. Your head whips around until you spot Jarad kneeling down next to you. You immediately reach out for him and he pulls you into his arms.
You wrap your arms tightly around his torso and his go around your neck. Your breath was rapid but in Jarad's embrace it started to slow down. He hummed quietly in your ear and you could feel your heartbeat start to slow down.
"You're okay." He whispers. "You're with me. You're okay."
After a few minutes you finally relax. You pull away slightly and rest your forehead on Jarad's. "You're okay." He whispers one last time.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me." He responds with ease. "You're my best friend I'll do anything for you."
Eventually, you move from his lap and back up onto the couch. He sits down next to you and you rest your head onto his shoulder tiredly. You hated that you were haunted like this.
"If I tell you I love you will you make me pancakes?" You ask out of nowhere.
"You love me?" He asks focusing on the beginning part of your statement.
"Yeah." You respond slowly.
"Like, actually love me?" He asks still not certain if he heard you correctly. He sits up to look at you and your eyes tell him everything he needs to know.
"Well, I figured this is as good as time as any to tell you." You say shrugging your shoulders.
"You love me." He repeats causing you to giggle and roll your eyes.
When you nod your head in response Jarad's smile widens so much you think his face is about to split in two. "I love you too." He whispers as he leans in to hug you tightly.
When you break apart Jarad leans forward and captures your lips. He slips one arm around your waist and the other is placed on your cheek. He lays you down on the couch until your underneath him and he's lying in between your legs.
You eventually break for air, and he lays his head on your chest. You can feel yourself smiling widely without even thinking about it. The kiss was everything you dreamed of and you felt like Jarad had just restored every sleepless night and wiped away every nightmare.
"So, how bout those pancakes?"
