Any Time At All

Chapter Twenty-Five

You decide to let Nancy and Jonathan take care of the police matter. Bidding them goodbye, you return to the cinema. You see two employees taking out a ladder. "Hey," you call out to them. "Can I help?" The older man looks at you and hands you the materials. You climb up the ladder and begin working on it, scrubbing away.

Half an hour goes by and your arm is hurting you. You've only managed to clean up 'Starring Nancy The' out of 'Starring Nancy The Slut Wheeler. So, you're halfway there when you hear someone call your name. You told the employees to return to their jobs, you didn't really need their help. You look down and see Steve, standing on the edge of the side walk with a busted up face. This had to have happened after you last saw him because his face was fine before then, perfect if anyone was really asking. 

"Hey," he says to you. 

"Hi," You look back to the board and start cleaning it off again. 

"Need a hand?" he asks. You look down at him and cock your eyebrow, unsure if he was being serious. He shakes his head and looks away. He looks back up at you and says, "I just...I wanna help."

You begin to descend the ladder without a word. He walks towards you and takes off his jacket, even though the fall air is crisp and biting your nose. You let him by and he walks up the ladder to the board and starts cleaning. You stay down and watch him go up. Looking down, you see his jacket and you throw your arms in the sleeves, wrapping it around you. You walk over and hold the ladder steady as he cleans. "So," you start. "Why'd you do it?"

"Well, last night, I went over Nancy's house and asked her if she wanted to see a movie with me. She told me she was busy and that she couldn't. That's when I went and asked you. After leaving the cinema, I hung out with Carol and Tommy. I picked them up but before we did anything, I wanted to stop by Nance's house to see if she was okay. She didn't seem herself before. So, I climbed up to her window and I saw her, sitting on her bed with that Byers kid. He was wrapping something around her shoulders, I can't remember what--but that doesn't matter. I saw her with him, (Y/N). Who has someone over that late at night, especially when she told me that she couldn't be with me that night. I just got so angry and I left."

"Wow," you say.

"I know right?" He asks you, happy that you understand.

"No, I mean, 'wow' I can't believe that you insinuated that she could have done that to you," you scrunch your face up in disapproval. 

"What?" He stops scrubbing and looks at you.

You tilt your head back and look up at him. "You do realize that she loves you, don't you? She would never and has never cheated on you. She wouldn't even think of it," You try to reassure him.

"How do you know that for sure?" He says.

"I know that because I know what happened last night. She explained it all to me." You hesitate on furthering your explanation. 

"Oh, really? You know what happened? Okay then, enlighten me."

"Listen, you don't need to know that. If I tell you, you could get hurt and even after all we've been through, I don't want that to happen to you," you give him a worried look. 

"Fine, I believe you," he goes back to working on the board. "How am I going to begin to apologize to Nancy?" 

"Just go to her and apologize. She will understand if you tell her why you did it. Also, apologize to Jonathan, he hasn't done anything wrong either and you have teased him relentlessly."

"Alright, that makes sense. Thanks, (Y/N/N)." He smiles at you and continues cleaning. "Uh, listen, you don't have to stay here. You can go home and I will finish up here."