Jonathan Byers stood patiently in the Hawkins Middle parking lot, fingers fiddling with his mom's old camera. He'd managed to snap a few decent photos, but the camera was pretty much crap, though he'd never tell his mom that. He leaned back against his car and tried cleaning off the lens with the edge of his t-shirt.
"Jonathan!"
The teen looked up from the camera lens to see Will scampering towards him, his friends in tow. A smile spread across his pale face as Jonathan stood up from the car and waved his brother over. "Hey!"
The group of middle schoolers made their way to the car. Mike and Lucas were shouting over each other in the back as Will gave his brother a quick hug.
"Hey", Jonathan chuckled, hugging his brother back, "How was your day?"
"Pretty good", Will responded, smiling up at Jonathan, "Science class wasn't the worst."
"Are you shitting me?", Dustin cut in, adjusting the cap stuck on top of his curls, "Mr. Norbury is the absolute worst teacher in the history of teachers! She's ruining my curiosity adventure."
"You need a better name for that", Lucas cut in, briefly pausing his conversation with Mike.
"Maybe curiosity voyage?", Will provided helpfully.
Dusting squinted over at the smaller boy, pressing his lips together. "Not bad. I'll take it under advisement."
Giggling, Will turned back to his brother. "Jonathan, can you be dungeon master for us this Saturday? Mike's parents are letting us use the basement for our next campaign."
"Didn't we just do this last weekend at Dustin's house?" Jonathan inquired, trying to keep his face straight, "I'm pretty sure my shirt still smells like his cat."
"Hey", Dusting slurred, pointing his finger warningly at the older boy, "Don't drag Mews into this. He can't help his hairy nature."
Jonathan put his hands up in a little surrender gesture. "Not blaming the cat, I promise. I'm happy to do it."
Mike pushed his way to the front of the group, his floppy hair falling in his eyes. "But you still promise to teach me how to do it? You promised, that means you're gonna do it."
"I'm definitely still gonna teach you, Mike", the teen responded gently, ruffling the boys dark hair, "But be warned, being a dungeon master is not for the faint of heart."
"I can handle it", Mike insisted, puffing out his chest. The whole scene made Jonathan smirk down at the boys.
"I have no doubt", the teen provided before turning back to his brother, "Okay, Will, it's time to go."
Will didn't argue and turned to say goodbye to his friends before climbing inside their old car.
The two brothers spent the next ten minutes in the car discussing their days. From Jonathan's newest photography project to Will's art class, they managed to cover every bit of their day. Then, in the middle of Jonathan trying to tell Will what they had for dinner, the younger brother noticed something along the side of the road.
"Hey, Jonathan", piped Will, poking his head closer to the windshield, "Who is that?"
"Who is who?" he responded, not taking his eyes off the road as he drove back towards their house after school.
Will pointed slightly left of their lane, tapping his finger on the windshield.
"Them."
Jonathan craned his neck slightly, looking beyond the slight hill they were driving up. A few dozen feet in front of them was someone on a bike, probably freezing their ass off. They were wrapped tightly in what looked to be three layers of scarves and jackets in some vain attempt to keep warm against the wind. It only made them look like a human marshmallow. There was a backpack strapped to the back of the bike, meaning the person was probably a student.
"I don't know who that is, buddy", Jonathan said curiously, turning his attention back to the road.
"Well, should we ask them if they need a ride?" inquired Will.
Jonathan glanced over at his brother. It wasn't that he didn't want to help whoever was dumb enough or unlucky enough to be stuck on a bike in the middle of February, but he didn't want to invite some stranger in his car while Will was there. They could be some sort of pervert or psycho. "Buddy, we have to get home and we promised Mom-"
"Please, Jonathan", he pleaded, pulling out his best puppy dog eyes, "They've gotta be freezing. And mom isn't expecting us for another half an hour."
Jonathan sighed, knowing his brother was right. Goddamnit.
"Okay, fine", Jonathan sighed, running a hand through his hair, "But if they're some sort of Michael Myers, I blame you."
Will giggled, leaning back to pull his backpack out of the back seat to make room for the stranger.
Jonathan managed to pull up to the biker and slowed down to keep pace with them. He tried to see their face, but it was wrapped tightly in a scarf with a thick woolen hat covering their head all the way down past their eyebrows, making it impossible to tell what they looked like. Will rolled down his window so Jonathan could call out to whoever they had just accosted.
"Hey!" called out Jonathan, startling the biker. They swerved slightly, quickly correcting themselves before they hit a patch of ice. They looked over through the window, brown eyes wide and confused.
"Hello?", they responded, their voice muffled by the thick scarf around their face. Their voice was higher pitched, so they must be a girl.
Jonathan wasn't quite sure what to say. He hadn't thought this far ahead.
"Um", he stuttered, not used to talking to marshmallow-esque strangers through car windows, "I noticed you were- well, it looks like you don't have a ride. And it's too cold to bike and-"
"As you can tell, I'm biking just fine", came a muffled jab, the pair of brown eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"I was just gonna offer you a ride", responded Jonathan awkwardly, "If you wanted it."
The girl started to rub at her nose nervously, eyes flicking around as if looking for a way out of this conversation. "Sorry", she called out in her muffled voice, "I appreciate the offer. Really. But taking rides from boys you don't know is how kids end up on the backs of milk cartons, so I think I'll play this one safe."
"Please", pleaded Will through the window, shooting the poor girl the same puppy dog look he had used on Jonathan less than two minutes ago, "We just wanna make sure you don't get sick or something."
The girls bike slowed slightly, her eyebrows scrunching together. She looked over at Will through the window before sighing heavily.
"Okay", she relented, bringing her bike to a stop, "Fine. A ride would actually be pretty nice."
Will smiled, thumping the heel of his hand against the door to signal Jonathan to stop. Jonathan gave a sigh just as heavy as the girl on the bike, braking and pulling over.
Bracing himself for the cold, Jonathan stepped out of the car to help marshmallow girl with her bike. He popped the trunk open before shuffling his way over to the struggling girl.
"We can keep that in the trunk", he said, awkwardly pointing towards the bike.
The girl poked her head up, looking utterly surprised that he was out of the car. She looked like she might protest before realizing that putting her bike in the trunk was the only logical option.
"Y-you know you don't have to do this", she stuttered, the cold seeming to get to her now that she had stopped moving, "I'm totally fine biking the rest of the way, it's not that far."
She shakily lifted her gloved hand to tug down the scarf wrapping itself around her mouth. With the scarf down, Jonathan could see most of the girls face, from her round cheeks and blue tinted lips to her dark, thick brows and bright red nose. A few strands of what appeared to be thick brown hair poked out of her cap and stuck to her cheeks. She was short, maybe a few inches shorter than himself. She looked familiar, like someone Jonathan might have seen in his peripheral vision once or twice.
"It's nothing", he responded, grabbing hold of her bike to put it in the trunk, "I, uh, I know you from somewhere. Are you in my class?"
The girl glanced over at him, helping him shove the bike in the trunk. "Um, yeah", she drawled, "We're in a lot of the same classes."
The boy felt his chest constrict with guilt. Why didn't he know who she was? "Shit, I'm-uh- I'm so sorry. I'm usually at the back and-"
"Oh, no no!", she interrupted suddenly, looking nervous, "I'm not mad or anything. Not a lot of people notice me. It's totally cool. I'm usually at the front in the corner for classes, so not a lot of people see me. I- shit, I made things awkward didn't I?"
Jonathan grimaced slightly. "No, no. No it's not awkward. I mean- I am, but that's just, um, my natural state, I guess. What's, uh, what's your name?"
"I'm Sammy. Well, Samantha Thompson, but people call me Sammy."
She said her name nervously, like it was something shameful, but Jonathan couldn't understand why.
"Well, I'm Jonathan", he responded quietly, shutting the trunk door, "Byers."
The two stood there awkwardly in the cold before Jonathan gestured weakly towards the car door. Sammy quickly got the idea and scuttled into the back seat. Jonathan slid back into the driver's seat and starting the car. He heard Sammy removing all the layers she had cocooned around her.
Will turned his head curiously over towards the girl in the back. "I'm Will", he said politely.
Sammy looked up after removing her flannel shirt, revealing a pink and white uniform shirt. She smiled at the young boy before responding kindly, "I'm Sammy."
She removed her cap, splaying her brown curls all over the place. Entire chunks of thick brown hair stuck up, poking out of the braids on either side of her head, rendering them useless at holding her hair back.
"So, um", muttered Jonathan, tapping lightly on the wheel, "Where are you going?"
"Oh", she piped, shuffling around awkwardly in the back, "Sorry, I forgot to mention it. Benny's Burgers. That's where I work."
Will whipped around, crawling up just above the seat to shoot Sammy a wide eyed smile. "I love that place!", he beamed, bouncing in his seat before turning to Jonathan, "If we're headed that way anyway, can we get some fries?"
Jonathan glanced back to see that Sammy was smiling sweetly at his brother before turning back to Will. "Sorry, bud", he responded softly, "I don't have any cash on me."
"But Jonathan-"
"Hey", he interrupted gently, smiling apologetically at his little brother, "Next time, okay bud? Plus, mom left us mac n' cheese in the fridge."
Will pouted before sliding back down in his seat. "We're here, anyway", he muttered moodily, making Jonathan slump dejectedly.
Jonathan pulled into the parking lot without a word and stepped back out into the cold. He made his way to the trunk to remove the bike. Sammy shuffled out of the backseat, clutching the piles of clothes in her arms. Her nose was still bright red and her lips still weren't a normal color, but they were a light purple instead of blue, so that was an improvement.
"Here you go", he said softly, handing Sammy the bike, "You know, I could probably pick you up and take you home if you-"
"No, that's okay", she interrupted nervously, looking uncomfortable, "I'm, uh, gonna be here late. Long shift. Covering for someone. I don't want to bother you."
Jonathan could tell she was lying by the way she was shifting around, not looking at him. She must not want to be seen in a car with the school's resident pretentious creep. He couldn't help but resent it slightly. It's not like he knew the girl, but he didn't know what he had expected.
"Yeah, cool", he responded, aggravated, before shutting the trunk door a little harder than before.
"Thank you", Sammy added quickly, "Really. I really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it", Jonathan bit back, not meaning to sound so annoyed.
Sammy recoiled slightly, her body shivering against the cold in just her uniform. Her hair had started to frizz slightly in the dry air, falling against her forehead. Her eyebrows drew together guiltily. She shuffled on the spot for a few seconds before waving awkwardly and heading towards the kitchen entrance, bike in tow.
Jonathan sighed, sliding back into the driver's seat.
"Think she'll be okay to get home?" asked Will, looking concerned for the girl.
Jonathan smiled tiredly over at his brother. "I'm sure she'll be fine. She must not live far if she bikes."
The two brothers nodded at each other before Jonathan turned the key to start the car and began to back out.
"Wait!", someone cried out as they were pulling out of the parking spot. Jonathan quickly slammed on the brakes, throwing himself and Will against the backs of their seats. Startled, he whipped his head around and saw Sammy sprinting towards their car. She was only wearing her uniform, meaning she was sprinting in 28 degree weather in only jeans and a short sleeved shirt.
"Did- did you forget something?", he stuttered, still startled from the sudden stop.
Sammy came to a quick stop by the window of the car with something clutched against her right hip. She was panting slightly, eyes flicking towards the kitchen door she had just exited. She thrust her hand in through the window, revealing a large box of fries before dropping it in Will's lap.
"For my knight in shining armour", she panted, smile spreading across her soft face, "Just don't tell my boss."
Jonathan's mouth opened and closed, gaping like a fish. He didn't know what to say. Will apparently didn't have that problem.
"Thank you thank you thank you", he cheered rapidfire, already beginning to stuff the food in his mouth.
Jonathan looked up through the window at Sammy, who was still nervously glancing back at the kitchen door. "Th-thank you", he muttered awkwardly, giving her what he hoped looked like a smile but probably looked more like a grimace. But she didn't seem to mind. She smiled right back, her round cheeks dimpling before she turned tail and ran back to the door before anyone would notice she was gone.