steve harrington is a total slime. (x reader)

3

Chemistry with Kaminsky had to be the closest thing you'd ever experienced to literal, actual hell.

The class was full of people you either didn't know or didn't like, so you didn't really talk to anyone. The subjects were always boring and complicated- you were smart enough to grasp what Kaminsky was talking about if you tried, but not smart enough to actually try to pay attention.  A couple of Steve's followers liked to taunt you every once in a while, but today they seemed preoccupied. Today was proving to be horrifically boring.

The only saving grace came to you in the form of Jonathan Byers, but even then, something was off about him today. You waved to him as he walked in and sat down. He didn't wave back. 

Normally calm and collected, his leg was bouncing so aggressively that your shared desk was shaking. He stared blankly at the blackboard, but you could tell his mind was somewhere other than balancing equations right now. Pretending to focus on your notes, you subtly slid your attention over to his hands, which were clenched into fists so tight you thought he might end up breaking his hand.

Yeah, something was definitely wrong. You thought back to earlier- Karen had mentioned something about Will, hadn't she? You couldn't recall the finer details, since at that point in time you were too busy worrying about Dawson's test to actively listen to what Mrs. Wheeler was saying, but you did remember the anxiety in the tone of her voice. And here was Jonathan, Will's older brother, looking the most anxious you'd ever seen him.

You looked back up to the board, wondering what you should do. Was it really your place to pry? Jonathan was your friend, yeah, but you weren't best friends by any means. The only reason you even started talking to each other was to escape the hellish boredom of chemistry class. What if you were being too nosy? Will was like your own brother at this point, though. You two had formed a close bond. Wasn't it your right to know what was wrong?

"Jonathan?" You spoke quietly, voice just barely above a whisper. The last thing you needed was for Kaminsky to get on your case for talking during a lecture. He didn't respond, so you reached out to gently touch his arm.

He snapped out of whatever trance he was in, looking over at you with hollow eyes. You hesitated, quickly pulling your hand back. The most heavily guarded person you knew was looking at you with genuine pain. He's never been this easy to read before. He's never looked so... vulnerable. 

"I, uh..." You trailed off, unsure how to proceed. The poor boy looked like he was about to break. "Are you okay?" Concern laced your voice, and your gaze darted over to the front to make sure Kaminsky hadn't noticed before quickly returning to Jonathan. "It's just- I heard something about Will, and..." 

He looked down and uncurled his hands, now red from how tightly clenched they were. Now that they weren't in fists, you could see how much they were shaking. "Jonathan..."

His eyes hardened and he looked to the door before looking to you. "In a second I'm going to go to the nurse, okay? A couple minutes later you're going to ask to go to the bathroom." He didn't give you a chance to respond, instead gathering his stuff and quickly leaving the room. Stunned, you sat there for a moment before following his lead.

Kaminsky let you out without a fight- when questioned about why you needed your backpack, you simply blamed it on "lady problems" before rushing out into the safety of the hallway. Jonathan was waiting for you, anxiously shifting his weight between his feet. As soon as he saw you he started off towards the front doors of the high school, leaving you to awkwardly jog in order to catch up with him. You could practically feel the tension radiating off the guy, so you elected to keep your mouth shut for the time being.

No one stopped the two of you as you silently made your way over to where Jonathan's car was parked. For some weird reason, he never bothered to lock the doors, so you went ahead and got in. Hearing the crinkle of paper, you realized you sat on something, but froze when you held up the poster.

Have you seen me? 

It didn't take a genius to put it all together. 

Will Byers was missing.