Things Change // Steve Harrington [On Hiatus]

Chapter 4

[🔗]

"And Who Is She?"

Finally Johnathan and Gracelyn arrive at Lonnie's house. Johnathan pulls the car over, puts it in park and stares at the house in question.

"Let's get this over with." Gracelyn says, opening the car door and climbing out. She follows Johnathan up the steps to the front door, they can hear loud music playing from inside.

Johnathan starts banging on the door, "Hello?" he calls out and bangs on it again.

A woman answers the door, who Gracelyn can only assume is the Cynthia Joyce had interacted with on the phone, "Can I help you?" she asks.

 "Yeah, is Lonnie around?" Gracelyn asks, before Johnathan can say anything.

"Yeah, he's out back. What do you want?" Cynthia says.

"To look around." Johnathan says, pushing pass her, Gracelyn following.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? Hey!" Cynthia yells after them.

"We'll be fast." Gracelyn says over her shoulder.

"Will! Will you here?!" Johnathan calls out.

"Will!" Gracelyn says, looking into a room, when she hears a thud. She turns around and sees the man she hates so much holding Johnathan against the wall. Johnathan pushes him off, "Get off." he says, glaring at his father.

"Damn, you've gotten stronger." Lonnie says.

"Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?" Cynthia asks.

"Jonathan, Cynthia. Cynthia, this is Jonathan. My oldest." Lonnie says.

"And who is she?" Cynthia gestures to Gracelyn.

Lonnie looks over at her, he raises an eyebrow, "Gracie, that you?" he asks, looking her up and down - giving her the creeps - "Look at you all grown up.".

Johnathan pushes Lonnie again, making him shift his attention from her.

"What are you here for?" Lonnie asks.

"Want to look around, for Will." Johnathan says.

"Fine, but he's not here." Lonnie says.

Lonnie, Johnathan and Gracelyn are outside now, having searched the house already. "Take a look at this beaut. Should've seen it when I got it. Took me a year, but it's almost done." Lonnie goes on about his dumb car, as if his youngest son isn't missing. It makes Gracelyn's blood boil.

Johnathan opens the trunk of the car.

"Really? You want to check up my ass, too? I told you the same thing as I told those cops, he's not here and he never has been." Lonnie says.

"Then why didn't you call Mom back?" Johnathan asks, coming to step slightly in front of Gracelyn.

"I don't know, I just... I assumed she just forgot where he was. You know, he was lost or something. That boy never was very good at taking care of himself." Lonnie says, just shrugging.

Gracelyn feels like she's about to explode at any moment.

"This isn't some joke, all right? There are search parties, reporters..." Johnathan says, trying to get it through Lonnie's head.

"Hopper's not still chief, is he?" Lonnie asks, the two have nothing to say to that, so they stay quiet, "Tell your mother she's gotta get you out of that hellhole. Come out here to the city. People are more real here, you know? And then I could see you more.".

Johnathan just stares at him and shakes his head, Gracelyn makes a face that says are you stupid.

"What, you think I don't want to see you?" Lonnie asks.

 "I know you don't." Johnathan says.

"See, that's your mother talkin' right there. She even know you're here?" Lonnie asks, the two get quiet, there's really nothing they can say to that, "Oh, great. So one kid goes missing, the other one runs wild? Some real fine parenting right there. Look, all I'm saying is, maybe I'm not the asshole, all right?" Lonnie shrugs.

Hearing him talk about Joyce's parenting, is the straw that brakes the camels back. Gracelyn steps out from behind Johnathan, causing both Lonnie and Johnathan to look at her. She opens Johnathan's bag and starts to dig around.

"You are most definitely the asshole here." Gracelyn hisses, "Your son goes missing, your son! And you stand there and shrug, like nothings wrong! You're sick!" she practically screams at him - making both men's eyes widen - this is not like her, she's the quiet non confrontational girl.

Gracelyn finally finds what she was looking for, she pulls one of the missing posters out from Johnathan's bag. Grabbing a hold of Johnathan's hand with her other, she steps forward. Shoving, almost slamming, the poster into Lonnie's chest, "In case you forgot what he looks like." she hisses, before pulling Johnathan away, back to the car.

The ride home was quiet, it was dark already, so instead of dropping Gracelyn at her car - that was still at the school - Johnathan drops her off at her house.

She sits still for a moment. Nether of them say anything.

Gracelyn leans over and hugs her best friend.

"Night, Johnny." she whispers.

"Night, Gracie." he says back, as she climbs out of the car.

Grace has been laying on her bed, just listening to music, rather then studying for a change. She couldn't focus even if she tried.

The morning, and the entire day went by in a blur for Gracelyn. She had found out that her boss, the kind man she had worked for almost two years, was dead. they say it was a suicide, but her heart doesn't truly believe that.

She's walking down the hallway of the school with Johnathan, when he stops, she looks at him and finds him starting at something, or, someone. Gracelyn follows his gaze, finding Nancy. Gracelyn raises an eyebrow, 'Really?' she thinks.

Just then Nancy looks over, as if feeling Johnathan's gaze.

The two look away and continue walking.

Johnathan stops again, making Gracelyn turn around, "What is it?" she asks.

"I just remembered, I have some photos I need to develop." he says.

Gracelyn pouts, "Fine. I'll just hang out with Dustin... that is, if he let's me." she jokes, turning around she walks to the parking lot, "See you later, Johnny." she says over her shoulder.

AN: Sorry for not posting last Saturday, I stayed up all night Friday and Saturday night for a livestream concert and it screwed my sleep schedule up more then it already is, so to make up for it I'll be posting two chapters