I hate this chapter and I really shouldn't be posting it, but I just can't seem to get it to the point where I approve of it and I just want to move on, so here goes...

I'm sorry for the quality, but I'm going to try and make future chapters much better. I also apologise for the continued awkwardness between Jonathan and Clara in this chapter, but I felt it was necessary. It didn't seem realistic for them to suddenly be comfortable in a relationship overnight. So you can kind of think of this as a transition chapter. The next chapter will take place a few weeks after this and they will be more comfortable with each other. It will also be more Clara/Jonathan centric.

"Viv, you're never going to believe what happened!" Clara exclaimed, twirling her finger around the cord of the telephone.

"What?" Viv asked, a little confused due to the fact that Clara had bombarded her with the question the second she answered the call.

"Jonathan Byers is now my boyfriend!" Clara revealed, trying to keep her voice down so her mom wouldn't hear, but failing due to her excitement.

"What!?" Viv almost yelled. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I went 'round to his house this afternoon," Clara explained.

"Tell me everything!" Viv demanded excitedly.

Clara paused, knowing that she shouldn't really tell Viv about the pictures. Her friend more than likely wouldn't understand, and she knew that Jonathan had been uncomfortable at the idea of her seeing them, let alone anybody else.

"We were looking through some photos," Clara decided to say.

"And?"

"And... We were talking and one thing led to another and then I just asked him if I could be his girlfriend!"

"Wait," Viv said in disbelief. "You asked him?"

"Yeah…" Clara hesitated. "Why? What's wrong with that?"

"I don't know, I guess it's just a bit unconventional is all…" Viv elaborated. "I mean, usually doesn't a guy ask a girl, and not the other way around?"

"So? It's not like it's an absolute rule," Clara defended.

"No, but he might feel intimidated if you keep taking the lead all of the time."

"Do you really think so?" Clara asked, suddenly unsure of herself.

"Look, I don't want to bring down your good mood," Viv explained. "It's just… men like to feel in control. It might just be a good idea to let him be the one to make the decisions."

"What is this?" Clara laughed. "The middle ages? Come on, Viv! Besides, he didn't seem put off by it. He actually looked kind of relieved that I asked."

"Hmm," Viv hummed, considering Clara's words. "You're probably right. You know him better than I do…"

"Yeah…" Clara said with a frown.

As ridiculous and out-dated as Viv's words seemed, she did have more experience when it came to dating. What if she was right?

"Did he kiss you again?" Viv enquired, rapidly changing the topic.

It worked to distract Clara from her thoughts, bringing a smile back to her face.

"Yes!" She gushed. "It was even better than the first time."

"Really? How?"

Clara blushed furiously. "Well… I don't know… I just felt kind of warm all over. It was like… No, I can't say it. It's too embarrassing!"

"Oh my God!" Viv laughed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What?" Clara demanded.

"You're just so innocent," Viv laughed harder. "It's adorable."

"Shut up!"

"What? It's true!" Viv defended. "I can't believe Jonathan Byers of all people brought out this side of you."

"I told you to shut up!" Clara grumbled.

"Okay, okay! I'll stop teasing you."

"Good."

"But seriously, did he really get you all hot and bothered?"

"No, Viv! Hör auf! I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Viv's only response was to laugh even harder, much to Clara's annoyance. Normally, her friend knew that when she spoke in German it wasn't a good idea to get on her nerves even further.

"What about you and Alex?" Clara retorted, turning the tables on her friend. "I haven't forgotten the way that you –"

"Okay! I'm sorry alright?" Viv instantly cut her off.

Clara smirked; she could almost hear Viv's blush. It served her friend right for teasing her so persistently.

"But I am happy for you," Viv continued, voice softer to show Clara that she was sincere.

"Thanks, Viv."

"You've liked him for ages, I'm glad that it's worked out for you."

Clara smiled, glad that her friend was supportive. She continued to talk to Viv for a long time until the girls decided to hang up and go to bed, ensuring that they get enough sleep for the next day of school.

"I don't know what to do!" Clara panicked the next morning.

She was standing with her friends, watching Jonathan from the opposite end of the school hallway.

"Do I go over and talk to him?" She continued. "Or do I have to wait until he comes and talks to me?"

Leroy rolled his eyes. "I don't care, do whatever you want. Just stop whining about it."

"Shut up, Leroy," Maddie intervened, pushing him aside lightly. "Just go and talk to him, Clar. He probably won't want to come up to you with all of us here."

"But don't you think she should play it cool?" Viv intervened. "Let him take the lead for once?"

Clara frowned, remembering what Viv had said the previous night. Maybe she should take a step back. She didn't want him to feel intimidated by her…

"Are you delusional, Viv?" Maddie argued, interrupting Clara's thoughts. "I can't see him being that confident overnight, when the whole school is here to watch! I reckon he's the kind of guy who likes to stay under the radar."

"Yeah?" Leroy challenged. "What makes you such an expert? You got a crush on him too?"

"What do you care?" Maddie snapped back, annoyed.

Clara groaned in defeat; her friends weren't helping her at all. She turned to look at Alex who was standing back and watching the scene unfold with an amused smile. When he caught her gaze, the smile only widened.

"Come on, Al," Clara begged. "You're the voice of reason here! What should I do?"

"I thought you were supposed to be the voice of reason?" He retorted.

"Alex!" She pouted.

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "It doesn't matter anyway, he's already gone to class."

"What?" Clara asked, spinning back around.

Alex was right. While they had been talking about him, Jonathan had left his locker and headed to class. She hadn't even heard the bell ring.

"Maybe you guys should do the same," Alex continued, walking off to his own class.

Clara couldn't help but be disappointed. Both by the fact that she hadn't been able to speak to Jonathan, and also that she had let herself worry about something so stupid. Where had her confidence gone? She'd never worried so much about what people thought of her, content to just be herself. But she felt Viv's words niggling away at the back of her mind. What if Jonathan did want to take the lead? Did she need to step back?

Clara followed her friends to class, lost in her thoughts.

"Hey," Jonathan said later that day, making her jump.

Clara looked up to see him smile at her as he slid into the seat on her right.

"Hi," she replied, returning his smile.

"How are you?" He asked softly.

"Fine," she chuckled slightly. "You?"

"Fine," he repeated with a nod.

They sat in silence for a few moments, their lesson yet to begin and only a few other students in the room with them. Clara was painfully aware of the awkwardness that had settled between them. She wanted to say something. Rattle off like she usually did until he grew comfortable enough to easily converse with her. That was what they normally did. Yet, she held back, waiting for him to approach her first like Viv had advised. But he didn't. Jonathan didn't say a word. He just looked at her with a mixture of confusion and concern.

Their teacher entered the room after a short time, and their attention was preoccupied with photography. When the class ended, Clara waited to see if Jonathan would talk to her again, and even though he did, she couldn't help but feel disheartened.

"Well, um, see you later, I guess?" He asked her nervously as they gathered up their books.

"Yeah," she nodded half-heartedly.

He gave her another small smile before walking out the door, but Clara was worried that it hadn't reached his eyes.

She couldn't focus on her next class. Thoughts of Jonathan completely occupied her mind. She couldn't help but be annoyed at herself. She knew that the way she'd acted in photography had thrown him off. Whether Viv was right or not, Clara knew that she shouldn't make assumptions. She didn't want to make things even more awkward between them, and so she resolved to seek him out at lunch and make things comfortable between them again.

When Clara entered the cafeteria at lunch, she was only mildly surprised to see that he wasn't there. She checked the darkroom, but he wasn't there either. When she walked outside of the school building though, she found him sitting underneath a tree eating by himself. Smiling, Clara quickly walked over to him. He looked up at her with a bewildered look on his face, eyes following her as she sat down beside him.

"I'm sorry," she said simply, relaxing against the back of the tree.

"For what?" He asked, confused.

She thought it was adorable, the way his brow furrowed in puzzlement, his eyes squinting slightly due to the glare of the sun. Already she felt more at peace, now that she'd stopped worrying about what he might think, and just being herself.

"I'm sorry for being so awkward around you earlier," she elaborated.

"Oh…" he said, still seeming a little bit unsure.

She watched him for a moment, the wind slightly ruffling his hair, the light brown strands drifting in front of his face. She reached out and gently pushed some of it away from his eyes, causing him to look at her with a slightly annoyed look. She quickly retreated her hand, wondering if what she'd done was wrong.

"Are you embarrassed?" He asked suddenly.

Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped open in shock.

"What?"

"Are you embarrassed by me?"

"What? No! Why would you think that?"

He watched her carefully, making her feel uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

"You barely even talked to me in class," he said. "This is the most you've said to me all day, but we're alone."

"It wasn't because of that," she mumbled, looking away from him.

He waited for her to elaborate, but when she didn't he stood up and went to leave. Panicking, Clara blurted out words without even thinking about them beforehand.

"I wanted to let you take the lead!" She cried out.

He turned back to face her, looking even more confused.

"What?"

She sighed, trying to sort out her thoughts. "I was talking to Viv, and she said that you might be intimidated if I kept taking the lead all of the time…"

She watched as he hesitated before moving back over to the tree, and sitting back down beside her. He thought about her words for a moment before suddenly letting out a quiet chuckle.

"What's so funny?" She asked, self-conscious.

"That's so stupid," he laughed a little louder.

"Hey!" She protested, offended.

"Sorry," he tried to repress his amusement. "But it is a bit asinine… I mean, what would Vivian Ainsworth know about how I feel, or what I think?"

"I guess so," she mumbled, seeing his reasoning but still looking unsure of herself.

"I don't think you're intimidating," he reassured her, taking her hand in his. "You're sure of yourself and confident. You don't let anything stand in your way and I really like that about you."

"Really?" She asked, smiling shyly at him.

"Yeah," he confirmed, squeezing her hand gently in his. "I wouldn't change a thing about you Clara, so don't pretend to be someone else thinking that it'll make me happy, because it won't."

Her eyes went wide in a mixture of admiration and surprise. Leaning forward, she gently kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer and she relaxed within his hold. Pulling away after a moment, Clara brushed some hair away from Jonathan's eyes again, happy that this time the action seemed to be appreciated by him.

"I'm sorry I made you think I was embarrassed," she murmured. "Please don't ever think that. I'd never feel like that."

"It's okay," he said just as quietly, arms still wrapped around her. "I should have known anyway."

"Yeah," she agreed with a teasing smile. "You should have! I wouldn't change a thing about you either. I like you exactly the way you are."

He grinned back at her, eyes shy but filled with happiness. She leant forward to kiss him again briefly, loving the feeling of his lips against hers.

"Why are you sitting out here?" She asked curiously after she'd pulled away again.

"I like the quiet," was all he said.

"Yeah, it's nice," she agreed. "Should we make this our spot?"

"Huh?"

"You know, should we make this our lunch spot? Just for the two of us."

Clara had to suppress a giggle when she saw how flustered he was.

"What about your friends?" He asked hesitantly.

"Well, I mean, you're welcome to sit at our table. I just thought you'd prefer it if it was just the two of us."

He thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"We can make this our spot," he agreed.

She beamed, shifting so that she could loop her arm through his. They sat together like that for the rest of their lunch break; Clara occasionally rambling about something while Jonathan listened attentively. When the bell rang, he walked her to class, his hand still clasping hers. He felt uncomfortable under the curious eyes of their class mates, but Clara's confidence and complete disregard for whatever anyone might think, helped to put him at ease. She wasn't embarrassed by him. In fact, she looked down right proud to be walking beside him, showing everyone that they were together. He couldn't help but smile to himself, the happy feeling not leaving him for the rest of the day.

Again, I really don't like this chapter, so any feedback would be very much appreciated!

Also, Viv didn't show her best side in this chapter... She's a bit close-minded and can be judgemental too, and that really came out here, but she has good qualities too. I wanted to highlight that taking other people's advice instead of trusting your gut doesn't always have the best results. Not only that, but communication is the key to all good relationships. Jonathan and Clara are so different to me and my high school boyfriend, so I'm finding them a little hard to write sometimes.

Lastly, Clara's family background (including why she speaks German) will be revealed in later chapters. It didn't seem natural to put in the narrative here.