Complicated • Stranger Things

4 - The Body

My dad got there soon after and quickly scolded me for not being at home before going to talk to Joyce. She explained to him that some creature came out of her wall, and that's why she was running. We all went back to the house to find nothing out of place, besides the Christmas lights hung up all over the house, and the alphabet painted on the wall.

"A trooper found something in the, uh... water that's at the quarry. Our working theory right now is that Will...crashed his bike, he...made his way over the quarry and, uh...accidentally fell in. The earth must have given away." My dad explained, but Joyce seemed to be distracted while I stood with Jonathan, our arms linked as I rested my head on his shoulder. "Joyce? Joyce? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"No. Whoever you found... is not my boy. It's not Will." She denied.

"Joyce." He started.

"No, you don't understand. I talked to him...a half hour ago." She walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a ball of lights. "He was...he was here. He was...he was talking with these."

"Talking?" He asked. Jonathan and I exchanged confused glances.

"Uh huh. One blink for yes, two for no." She put the lights back as she continued. "And... and, uh... and then I made this so he could talk to me." She pointed at the alphabet written on the wall. "Cause he was hiding... from that, thing."

"The thing that came out of the wall? The thing that chased you?" My dad questioned.

"Yeah." She confirmed. "Yeah."

"Mom, come on, please. You've gotta stop this." Jonathan left my grasp and went over to Joyce.

"No, maybe he's... It's after him! He's in danger. We have to find him! We-"

"What exactly was this thing? It was some kind of animal, you said?" My dad cut off Joyce's rambling.

"Uh, no, it was... it was almost human, but it wasn't. It... it had these long arms and... it didn't have a face." Joyce explained as Jonathan left the room, and I followed shortly after.

I found him laying on his bed with headphones on. I silently crawled into his bed and pulled him into a hug as we laid there. A few minutes later my dad came into the room.

"Jordan, it's time to go home." He told me, but I shook my head.

"I'm staying here." I told him.

"No yo-"

"Dad." I cut him off and he sighed before leaving.

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The next morning Jonathan told me that he was going to the morgue with his mom. I offered to go along, but he insisted that I've helped enough.

"I'll just drop you off at school, okay?" Jonathan asked and I nodded. "I should go wake up Mom."

I didn't have any other clothes so Jonathan let me use an old shirt of his, which was still a little big on me.

"Good morning Joyce." I smiled at the older woman before giving her a hug.

"Jordan, I didn't know you spent the night, you could've had my bed." Joyce told me.

"No, it's fine. I stayed in Jonathan's room." Joyce just nodded. "Well, we should get going. I'm a little late for school."

"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. Let's go." Joyce got her things together and we headed outside to the car.

"Goodbye, Jon." I gave Jonathan a quick kiss on the cheek before also saying goodbye to Joyce and heading into school.

I spotted Nancy as she was walking towards the school. She seemed a bit angry, so I decided to talk to her.

"Nancy, hey." I greeted her.

"What do you want?" She snapped.

"Geez, I was just saying hi." I replied.

"I'm sorry. I just had an argument with-"

"Wait, don't tell me! Let me guess, hmm.... Steve?! Was it Steve?" I sarcastically exclaimed.

"Yes, okay, we had a disagreement, but I don't want to hear it, okay?" Nancy said.

"Alright, alright." I held my hands up in defense.

"Who's shirt is that?" Nancy asked as she looked my outfit up and down.

"Jonathan's. I spent the night at his house." I said casually.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Nancy asked.

"What? No, he's my best friend." I laughed at the thought. "Why, you interested?" I teased.

"No, I'm with Steve." She glared at me. "Have you seen Barb lately?"

"No actually, I haven't." I told Nancy. I then remembered what Jonathan told me the day before. I didn't think it was the right time to tell her, so I played dumb. "Why, is something wrong?"

"I think so. I've been trying to get a hold of her, but it's like she just disappeared." Nancy told me.

"I'll help you. I think I know someone who could help." I told her just as the bell rang.

"Tell me later I need to get to class." Nancy ran off towards the school before I could answer.

After school I decided to just go home since no one seemed to be around. Not even my dad was home. I just wanted to know what the hell was going on.

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A/N:

This chapter was kind of short and uneventful, but I hope you're enjoying the story so far!