𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 -- s. harrington

→ twenty-one.

HAWKINS, INDIANA WAS finally back to normal. After a year of talk and whispers about Hawkins Lab and what happened last year, it finally died down and everyone started to forget what happened in the small little town in the middle of nowhere. Everyone was finally happy. Andrea worked as a lifeguard at the Hawkins Pool and she loved it, Steve worked at Scoops Ahoy in the new Starcourt mall and the other kids were enjoying the summer before they were whisked away to school again. There was one thing that made Andrea's summer horrible and that was her father's girlfriend, Renee.

          Steve glanced over at his girlfriend who was sitting in the front seat of his car, her wet hair clinging to her head and shoulders. He had picked her up over twenty minutes ago and she had been silent ever since - it was strange for that girl to be quiet because she loved to talk. "Earth to Andrea," the boy said and waved his hand in front of her face, smiling slightly. "Talk to me, Andy."

          Andrea blinked and watched Steve's hand sway back and forth in front of her face for a second before it dropped down onto her knee. She turned in her seat and rested her back up against the door, folding her arms over her chest. "I don't like my dad's girlfriend," she stated and exhaled deeply through her nose.

          Steve furrowed his eyebrows and scrunched up his nose, trying to process what Andrea had said. "But she's so nice," he said and tapped on Andrea's knee with his fingers. "She bakes amazing cookies and she makes your dad happy and-"

          "But she's not my mom, Steve," Andrea sighed and ran a hand through her wet hair, wincing when her fingers yanked on a tangle. "I know that Renee is nice, she practically lives in my house, but it's taking me a while to get used to her being there."

          Steve was lost for words. Usually, he knew what to say to make his girlfriend smile but at this moment he was truly at a loss for words. He blinked rapidly and chewed his lip as he thought about things to say to Andrea that would cheer her up. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, Andrea cut him off with a question that made his heart clench.

          "Can you bring me to see Jonathan?"

* * * *

Jonathan handed Andrea a cup of hot chocolate and then sat down beside her, glancing up at Steve who was standing in his bedroom doorway with his arms crossed. He wrapped his arm around Andrea's shoulders and looked back at her, searching for her eyes but they were blocked by her blonde hair shielding her face so he couldn't see her. "Can you tell me what's wrong?" He asked softly and gave her shoulders a light squeeze.

          Andrea lifted her head and met Steve's eyes for just a second before looking over at Jonathan. "My dad got a girlfriend and she's really nice but I..." her voice trailed off and she looked down at the tiny marshmallows floating around in the hot chocolate that Jonathan always made her when she was upset. "I don't like her."

          Seeing Andrea pressed up against Jonathan's side while he had his arm around her made Steve's chest tight. It wasn't jealousy - he knew better than that, but it made him feel guilty for not being able to help his girlfriend when she was upset and instead, she ran to someone she hadn't spoken to very often since last year. Steve wanted to leave the two so they could talk, but he couldn't bear to leave Andrea when she was upset. She wasn't talking to him but he still wanted to be there for her.

          "Because she's not your mom, right?" Jonathan asked and raised an eyebrow at Andrea as his hand ran up and down her arm comfortingly. Andrea nodded and sighed, leaning her head up against his shoulder. "She might not be your mom -and no one can replace her- but Renee makes your dad happy, doesn't she? So as long as your dad's happy, that's good."

          Andrea swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded slowly. She sat up straight and took a sip from the hot chocolate, closing her eyes and taking in the lovely taste. She set the hot chocolate down on the nightstand next to Jonathan's bed and sighed, looking down at her lap. "They've been dating for six months and she's acting like she's mine and Valorie's mother, Jon," Andrea said and looked back at the boy beside her, furrowing her eyebrows. "She tells us goodnight every night, she says she loves us, she makes us breakfast every morning - why is she acting like she's my mom when she has no reason to be?" Tears formed in Andrea's eyes and she began tapping her foot on the hardwood floor.

          "I don't think Renee is the issue," Jonathan said and sighed, glancing toward Steve and then looking back at Andrea. "You said yourself that Renee is nice, and she seems nice from what you're telling me, the only problem is that you don't want her there. You're right when you say she's not your mother but doesn't mean you can't like her. Your father is happy and he deserves this, be happy for him, Andrea."

          Andrea wiped the tears off her cheek and then wiped her hands on her shorts. She huffed out a sigh and turned her head away from Jonathan, her eyes positioning themselves on the floor. "I miss her," she whispered and stood up, Jonathan shooting up to stand beside her. "I miss my mom." And that's when the sobs came flying out of the girl's body.

          Steve tore away from his spot next to Jonathan's bedroom door and walked toward his girlfriend but before he got there, Andrea was already wrapped up in Jonathan's arms, sobbing into his shoulder. He blinked and let out a sigh, taking a few steps back to give the two some space. He folded his arms over his chest once again and ran his tongue over his lips as he watched Andrea cry into Jonathan's shoulder as he whispered things into her ear - something Steve should've been doing and had done more times than Jonathan ever will.

          Andrea's chest and throat burned from the sobs, her eyes were stinging and she didn't know what to do but to cry. Crying was the only thing she was able to do. The blonde tore herself off of Jonathan and turned toward Steve with tears streaming down her face and puffy red eyes. She opened up her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She had never felt so broken in her entire life, not even when she and Steve stopped being so close.

          Jonathan looked up at Steve and gestured to the crying girl standing by herself between the two boys. He took a couple of steps back and pointed from Steve to Andrea, sighing when the boy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Jonathan rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around himself to show Steve that Andrea needed a hug.

          Steve nodded and walked toward Andrea with his arms open wide to engulf her into a hug, but she placed his hands on his chest and shook her head. "You don't want a hug?" He asked softly and tucked her damp hair behind her ears.

          Andrea shook her head and let out a shaky breath, tapping her fingers on Steve's chest. "Can you come home with me?" She asked quietly.

          Steve nodded quickly and wrapped his arm around Andrea's shoulders. He glanced over his shoulder and mouthed a quick thank you to Jonathan before leaving his room. "Andy?" Steve said and gave the girl's shoulders a gentle squeeze. She lifted her head and met his eyes. "I love you."

          Andrea smiled slightly and nodded her head. "I love you, too."