What matters
It didn't take long for Steve to convince Nancy and Jonathan to come with him. He wanted to take them to a place he had found some time before, right outside the city; it was a special place, or at least that was what he had said.
In the worst case scenario it was just a prank – something they could have laughed about later – so Jonathan and Nancy decided to humor him and come to that beautiful place of his.
That same night they hopped inside Steve's car; they would have spent some time there.
They didn't speak much during the travel, but nevertheless the atmosphere was friendly.
Nancy was sitting beside Steve and sometimes her hand brushed lightly against the one he had on the gearshift.
Jonathan was looking at road outside the window. Sometimes he looked at Nancy, at her hand so close to Steve's, but he always looked away from that, having to remind himself that he wasn't a third wheel, that they wanted him with them, that he was part of… whatever they were too.
- Are we there yet, Steve? -, Nancy asked. She was starting to get impatient.
Jonathan couldn't see Steve but he could almost hear his smile when he replied:
- We're almost there, hold on -.
He was right; it didn't take long for them to arrive to the place.
- A… lake? -, Jonathan said, looking around.
- There's a lake outside Hawkins? -, Nancy asked, - How didn't I know that? -.
- I know, it's crazy -, Steve replied, - But apparently nobody comes here -.
- Are you kidding me? -, Nancy said, - But it's beautiful here! -.
That night the moon wasn't hidden by any cloud and it was visible up in the sky. Its reflection could be seen on the water and it created a magical atmosphere.
Jonathan couldn't resist anymore and he took his camera, the one Nancy and Steve had given to him – he always took it whenever he went – and he started to take some photos. At first he captured only the environment, but soon he started to involve Nancy and Steve as well.
He noticed how Steve's features were highlighted by the light reflected by the water, how Nancy looked like a creature from a fairy tale, with those tree in the background.
He didn't take any picture of himself. He didn't think it was important.
Steve decided to put on some music and he chose the mixtape Jonathan had given to him – he had made one for him and one for Nancy as well.
He turned on the headlights too, so that they could see better.
It still surprised Jonathan whenever Steve put on his mixtape. He had given it to him only because it didn't feel right to give one just to Nancy, but he hadn't dared to hope for such a positive response.
Not only Steve hadn't thrown his gift away, but he also genuinely enjoyed it, if the number of times he had listened to it was of any indication.
Maybe he was just listening to it when he was around to be polite, but Jonathan liked to think that he knew him enough to be sure that he wouldn't do that.
They sat on the hood of the car, facing the lake.
It wasn't as nearly as picturesque as before, thanks to the added lights, but it didn't matter to them.
What mattered, in fact, was that they had found a place that could be theirs, a place where Nancy could put her hand over Jonathan's without people whispering "but isn't she already in a relationship?", where Steve could lean on Jonathan's shoulder without anyone looking at them with disgust – because they were boys, and boys weren't supposed to do those things with each other.
There they could be themselves without the whole school saying "what an odd trio".
There they could enjoy each other's company without having to hold back.
There they could finally be together.
That was all that mattered.