Chapter Thirty-Six
More Than Friends
Veronica stared up at her bedroom ceiling as she listened to the rest of the Byers home start to get ready for their day. Without even being out there with them, Veronica knew it was a typical, chaotic morning. Joyce was running around trying to get ready for her morning shift at the General Store while simultaneously cooking, a well-burning, breakfast. Jonathan is getting himself dressed and ready while making sure Will is doing the same. But Veronica was unmoving and not joining in the chaos. Instead, she stayed tucked away in her bed with flashes of the night before playing in her mind.
"Veronica…sweetie…" Joyce's soft voice spoke on the other side of the bedroom door. Veronica sighed softly and closed her eyes. Deep down she knew that she wasn't going to be able to hide forever, but she'd hoped. "Are you feeling, ok?"
Veronica let out a loud groan as her answer while rolling over so her back was toward the door. Joyce's frown deepened more before she turned the knob and stepped into the bedroom. The curtains were drawn closed causing the room to be in a softened darkness, the morning light fighting to peek through. Joyce moved to take a seat on the edge of the bed, before reaching over and gently rubbing along Veronica's shoulder.
"Why aren't you outta bed?" Joyce spoke, true concern in her tone.
"Don't feel like…school today," Veronica huffed lightly. "Just…can't…"
"Hopper mentioned you were having a bit of a hard time lately, does it have to do anything with that?" Joyce asked after a small moment of silence between them.
Veronica shook her head, "Billy and Tommy aren't the issues."
She moved to lay on her back and looked toward the woman that she'd come to love as much as she loved her own mother. Even more so. Since the memories of her mother seemed to fade and fade each more as the years passed. Learning more of Lauren Gray from the memories of those that knew her.
"Talk to me kiddo, I can't help if you don't talk." Joyce smiled slightly.
Veronica frowned and fiddled with the edge of the blanket that covered her, "I-I…I think I missed things up…w-with Steve,"
Joyce's brows pinched together in confusion, "How could you have messed things up?"
"I…I…" Veronica groaned and closed her eyes tightly, "We were talking, and something came up that basically…I-I admitted…I might…have feelings for him. I don't know."
A look came over Joyce's face as she slowly nodded her head "Ah, I see. So you think that you might like Steve a little bit more than a friend?"
Veronica pouted slightly and shrugged her shoulders. "I feel for him differently than I do with anyone else. It doesn't feel like how when I'm with Jonathan…o-or Robin. It's…warmer, safer…he makes me happy."
Joyce couldn't stop the small smile that turned up the corner of her lips, "It sounds to me that your feelings for Steve are a bit more."
"And that's how I ruined it." Veronica groaned as she placed both her hands over her face.
"Well, what did Steve say?" Joyce spoke "Did he say that you ruined it? That he never wanted to be friends with you again?"
"No." Veronica rubbed her hands slowly along her face, "I used my powers to come home before he could say anything."
Joyce opened her mouth a few times trying to think of the right words to say, but nothing came to mind. Deep down she knew that Veronica was most likely overacting. That her friendship with Steve wasn't ruined at all, if anything she discovered that she had a crush on her friend. But a part of Veronica was still naïve when it came to certain things that most kids her age understood.
"Why don't you take a day, figure out what's going in that mind of yours, and then next time you see Steve…you two can figure everything out," Joyce spoke with a smile.
"I won't get in trouble?"
"No." Joyce brushed back the rogue curls that lay across the younger girl's forehead, before moving to stand up. "I will leave my number for the store by the phone in case you need me. Along with the number for the station, if for any reason you need your dad. Ok?"
Veronica kept her dark eyes on Joyce as she moved to head out of her bedroom, closing the door tightly behind her. Veronica rolled onto her side and pulled her blankets around her tighter as she listened to the three Byers leave for the day. The house fell into a silence where everything became background noise.
She wasn't sure how long she lay against the alabaster sheets with the silence of the home surrounding her. Veronica felt for a moment that the voices within her head were running so fast it also was like a buzzing noise. Doubts of everything clouding everything that happened the night before. Fixated on the fact that she'd possibly ruined a friendship with the person that had been there for her the most. Unexpectedly too.
After a while, her body cried out for food from the extended period of time she'd laid there, so Veronica unwillingly stood and walked out of her bedroom. The bright morning sun spilled in through the front window in the Byers' living room causing a yellow glow to fill the brown-toned home. It brought a smile to Veronica's face, the brightness of the day already making her feel better. She no longer felt the ache to crawl back into the coolness of her room. But it wasn't long till the boredom of being alone caught up to her. None of the movies on the shelf look entertaining and all that was on TV were talk shows and old shows.
It wasn't long till the thought of El sitting alone, possibly, at the cabin came to her mind. It had been a small while since she'd seen her sister, the last time being she'd gone and had dinner with them. Veronica frowned as she remembered the promise, she'd given El. She contemplated it for only a few moments before Veronica quickly stood and got dressed once her food was finished. She slipped on a pair of jeans and one of the old tshirts Jonathan had given her a few years back. Veronica pulled back her dark, thick curls from her face before putting on her shoes. Her body still felt tired and worn out from using her powers unexpectedly. Coming from Steve's house was the farthest she'd traveled since everything that happened months ago at Hawkins Lab. That was also an aspect of her powers that seemed to drain her post. But logically Veronica knew walking to the cabin was out of the question, especially since she didn't fully trust her memory. Her fingers rubbed against the soft shag beneath her as she sat cross-legged on her bedroom floor.
Behind her closed-eyed, Veronica started to play through the memories of the dinner she had with El and her father. Remembering what the cabin looked like, smelled like, and felt like. How the floorboards creaked and groaned beneath your feet with each step. How the sounds of the woods leaked into the cabin if you sat silently enough. Veronica remembered how peaceful it was to be out there, away from the noise of the town. It wasn't long till that painfully familiar feeling overtook her body. Her back straightened before her head tilted fully back as her eyes snapped open. It was only a few mere seconds, and Veronica found herself sitting in the middle of her father's cabin.
Veronica felt her body fall back till she was sprawled out on the worn-down rug. Her chest heaved with each breath that she took, her chest feeling tight with a burning sensation. From down the hall, Veronica could hear the sound of a door opening before the rushed sound of footsteps. They came to a halt not too far from where she lay. Veronica's eyes were clenched tightly shut as she willing the pain to leave her. But at that moment, she knew the person standing over her, was her sister.
"Seven?" El's soft voice sounded through the buzzing sound that rang through Veronica's ears.
El moved to bend down beside her sister and quickly grabbed her tightly clenched fists. The moment they touched it was like old times, back in the lab, only having each other as comfort for those dark times. El tapped into their bond, soothing the pain and panic that was overtaking the older girl. Slowly that labored breaths evened out and quieted. Veronica's fists loosened out from their tightened fists.
"T-Tha-Thank you," Veronica panted out, her dark eyes opening slowly to look up toward El. A small grimace of a smile came across her face.
"Of course," El spoke, pulling back to allow Veronica to sit up slowly, a small groan coming from her lips. "Why…here?"
Veronica paused for a moment before speaking, "I stayed home today from school. I-I wanted to see you."
"Me?" El asked, her brows pulling together tightly, "Are you allowed?"
"I mean…I was never told I couldn't come and see you," Veronica shrugged "I promised to be around more. I'm keeping on my promise."
"Promise." El smiled and nodded her head, "But…powers cause you pain."
"I didn't remember how to get here, easiest way. But…it's ok…I'm ok."
"Lie," El spoke with a deadpanned tone to her voice, "Friends don't lie."
"Friends don't lie, you're right," Veronica sighed. "I'm…I'll be ok."
El reached over and gently caressed Veronica's face bringing a calming sense over her body. It was small moments like this that caused Veronica to miss El even with her right in front of her. Holding onto the memories when they were closer.
"I'm yours till Hopper comes home," Veronica reached up and gently grabbed El's hand away. "What do you usually do when he's gone."
El sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Eat, watch movies, read…watch another movie."
"That it?" Veronica frowned, El quickly nodding her head to answer. "You're not allowed to go out?"
"I do sometimes when Mike comes over, Hop makes me keep the door open. His rule." El shrugged "But…don't go into town much."
Veronica leaned back against the couch behind her, "He's not still worried about the lab, is he? They are all gone. Owens promised this time."
"I don't know," El spoke. "Doesn't say…just says not always safe."
Veronica knew that her father was a paranoid person, rightfully so with everything that has happened over the last couple of years. But a sadness came over her knowing that El spent most of her time in the confines of the small cabin tucked away in the woods.
"Well, let's have a fun day," Veronica smiled fondly, "We can eat, order pizza, watch movies…also talk…can tell me what's going on with you and Mike."
El blushed deeply as she ducked her head away, "Mike is my friend…but more…"
"Boyfriend!?" Veronica spoke with her eyes widening, "What!?"
"We kissed" El's face reddened more, "Hopper let me go to a-a dance. Mike and I…we kissed…"
"Oh, my god." Veronica spoke with a soft laugh, "We have much to catch up on, seems I have missed out on a lot."
Music blasted from the speakers causing a vibration to move through Veronica's body. On the table were two plates with the only evidence left behind on them were the puddles of syrup they had drowned their Eggos in. A laugh left Veronica's lips as she watched El dance around the living room with her. The two of them were filled with giggles and laughs from the last few hours together. For the first time in a long time, Veronica felt like she was finally herself again. She was no longer feeling lost with the loss of her sister no longer at her side. She'd felt alone since El was the only one to honestly know what it was like to be a child from Hawkins Lab. Veronica couldn't blame the others for not truly understanding. Sometimes she didn't fully understand why she was given these powers and how they affected her life. But being able to talk with El and just simply spend time with her brought a genuine smile across her face.
"Oh my god, I need to breathe," Veronica panted, rising her hand and flicking her wrist with a slight twist – at the same moment the volume of the stereo turned down. "My lungs feel like they are gonna burst."
El panted slightly with the deliriously happy smile still on her face, "This is the most fun I've had in a while. Hopper rarely does anything outside of watching tv and movies with me."
"I feel the exact same," Veronica panted, moving to throw her body lightly onto the couch as she lounged across it. Her chest still heaving with her labored breaths. "I have fun with Steve, but not like this."
"Steve?" El asked with her brows coming together with the confusion crossing her features.
"You've met him…" Veronica spoke, "…I think at least. He's the one that Dustin calls "The Hair,"?"
El shook her head slowly, "I-I…I don't remember…"
"Well then, I'm gonna must introduce the two of you. You'd like him, he's been a good friend to me lately." Veronica spoke with a heavy sigh, "That is if he still wants to be friends with me."
"Why wouldn't he?"
Veronica shrugged not wanting to get into the thoughts that were going through her head, at least they were again in that moment. Because it was only then on that floral faded couch that Veronica realized that those thoughts stopped in the hours she'd spent with El.
When Veronica returned home the sun was starting to set over Hawkins causing the shadows to grow. She curled in on herself from the pain of once again teleporting back to her bedroom. Once again she returned back to the cold silence of her bedroom without the warmth of her sister beside her. She wasn't sure how long she'd laid there along the soft comfort of her bedroom floor till frantic knocks sounded from the front of the house. Veronica lay there frozen for a moment and only moved till the knocks started again – this time followed by a voice.
"Ronnie!? Ronnie, please!" Steve's voice came from the other side of the front door. His voice coming clearer the closer she got to the door. "Veronica! Come on,"
Veronica opened the door quickly staring back at Steve in shock. He stood in the doorway with his hand hanging midway in the air as if he were going to knock on the door again. His brown eyes stared at her in shock for a moment till he slowly brought his hand down, and stood a little straighter. Veronica's lips turned up slightly with a small smile.
"Hi," She spoke softly.
"Hey," Steve sighed heavily "You…you weren't at school, I got worried."
Veronica shrugged "Wasn't really feeling it. Traveling kind of took a lot out of me."
Steve frowned slightly, "Shit…I-I wanted to talk to you about that. Well, not that…but um…about the other night."
Veronica frowned and looked down toward her feet as she stood before him. "Steve…"
"No," He spoke with frustration "You didn't let me speak, and…I-I hate how things were left." Veronica nodded her head and looked back up at him. "W-What you were trying to say and ask…I shouldn't have pushed. I'm sorry for that."
Steve stood in silence for a moment, the nervousness he felt was clear in his body language.
"Did you mean I thought?" He asked, sheepishly, shifting from one foot to the other.
"About?"
"About me? About liking me?" Steve looked at her with hope swimming in his eyes. "C-Cause that part I haven't been able to get out of my head."
Steve took a step forward as he spoke and look intensely down at Veronica. She stared at him for a moment, her mouth opening a few times, till simply nodding her head. Unable to find her voice as she looked up at him.
"More than a friend?" Steve spoke with a lightness to his voice, lips turning up into slight smiles.
"I-I…" Veronica stuttered "How I feel for you is more than anyone else. I-I can't explain it, and I don't fully understand it. B-But…I would say more than a friend, yes."
Steve's shoulder sagged with a deep and heavy sigh of relief before he stepped closer and reached to gently caress her face. His thumb moved against the curve of her cheek.
"I like you more than a friend, Veronica. I have for a while…just have been too scared to say anything." Steve spoke gently.
"Really?" She whispered,
Steve nodded his head with a light breathy laugh "Really. And if…if you'd like to…maybe go slow? Talk to each other? See where this goes?" Veronica nodded her head, "And don't run from me again, I hated that more than anything."
The two of them stood there together for a moment before Steve began to bend his head down slowly toward her. Veronica sucked in a harsh breath till Steve's lips pressed gently against her cheek.