[ Steve’s stopped at the gas station to fill up when he sees Lonnie Byers’ car pull in. It’s hard not to notice, considering the knocking that the engine is making, or the smoke coming from the tailpipe until it’s switched off. He watches as the two occupants in the front seat seem to get into a heated argument and then suddenly the passenger door opens and Jonathan Byers gets out and slams the door behind him hard enough to make the car shake. Lonnie Byers gets out of the car and shouts curses at him, but Jonathan gives as good as he gets until his face is red and furious. After a moment, Lonnie gets back in the car and then speeds off without another word, kicking up gravel in the parking lot.
It’s more than a little surprising, considering that as long as Steve has known the Byers kid he’s come across as quiet and awkward. Mild-mannered. Definitely not the boy standing in the middle of the parking lot glaring into the distance with his hands clenched at his sides. Steve thinks that if he ever talked to his father like that, he’d probably get kicked out of the house.
He finishes pumping his gas and walks by Byers to go inside to pay. When he emerges a few minutes later, Jonathan’s already walking along the road headed south. Steve knows the Byers live close to his own neighborhood of Loch Nora even if they are completely different parts of Hawkins. If he’s walking home, he’s got at least a good seven miles or more to go.
He slows the car when he pulls up alongside him. If Tommy and Carol were with him, he probably wouldn’t bother, just because they’d both give him shit for it, but they’re not here and it’s a long walk home. ] Hey, Byers! Need a ride?
[ This is far from the first time he's gotten into a fight with his father. Ever since the divorce, Jonathan had been lashing out, blaming the old man for all the problems their family was facing. In his eyes, he and his dad couldn't be more different. Lonnie was more interested in sports and cars and beer, while Jonathan would rather be listening to music or snapping pictures with his camera.
The camera that Lonnie got him for his birthday a couple years ago, but only because mom told him to.
He never fucking cared about any of his or Will's interests, and he never would. He kicks at the ground, an offending pebble skipping across the road, and he's braced himself for the reality that he's now doomed himself to walk home.
It also wouldn't be the first time he'd had to walk a few miles because he let himself get carried away. Still, it's his dad's fault he couldn't be assed to drop him back home and then drive away in a huff.
What he doesn't expect is for another car to pull up alongside him. He definitely doesn't expect to see Steve Harrington's face when he lowers the window, nor does he expect him to offer a ride. He freezes, glancing around to see if he's being pranked, but not only is nobody in the car with Steve, but there's no one around for miles. ]
Wait, really? [ And cautiously, he adds, ] What's the catch?
[ Steve's brow furrows at Byers' reaction as if this is some kind of trap. He knows that Tommy can be an asshole sometimes and that probably doesn't reflect that well on himself, but being faced with Jonathan's distrust stings in a way he doesn't expect.
He shakes his head, waving impatiently with his hand for him to get in. ] No catch, man. Get in before I get hit stalling here.
[ Maybe he could be a little nicer to the Byers' kid, but mostly Steve's path doesn't really cross his that often. They move in different circles, though he knows that his dad is clearly an asshole. That's one thing they have in common.
He sighs, frowning at him.] Look, you can walk if you want, but you're on the way home. If we hurry, we might even be able to beat your dad home.
[ He hesitates again, but he doesn't see anything akin to malice in Steve's expression, so unless Steve is really damn good at hiding it, he probably is safe. Maybe it's one of those things where Steve on his own actually has an ounce of empathy. He wouldn't have expected it, but then again, it's not like he has any friends.
He sighs as he opens the passenger's side door and climbs in, quickly buckling his seatbelt and hunching over a little, almost as if making himself smaller. ]
Thanks. [ He manages a small smile, though keeps his gaze straight ahead. He wouldn't mind sticking it to his dad, that he managed to beat him home after he was being a grade A asshole. ] Look, uh. [ He winces as he realizes this probably isn't helping him seem like he trusts Steve at all, but...he knows who Steve's friends are. ]
If you wouldn't mention this to anyone tomorrow...I'd really appreciate it. [ The last thing he needs is for news to travel all throughout the school that Jonathan almost had to walk home because his dad got pissed off at him. ]
[ Steve huffs, not waiting for him to put on his seatbelt before he's pulling back out onto the old highway. ] Yeah right. Tell anyone I gave you a ride home? I don't want people thinking I'm some kind of taxi service.
[ He knows that's not what Jonathan means, but this is easier. He taps his steering wheel as he takes a turn on an old back road shortcut he usually reserves for when he's nearing curfew and needs to shave a few minutes off his way home. ] So your dad kind of seems like an asshole. I can't believe he left you there. [ A pause.] That's probably something mine would do too.
[ Jonathan can't help but laugh at that. He half expected Steve to lord this over his head for the rest of their time at school together, but instead Steve's what...commiserating with him? What a weird set of circumstances. ] Yeah, well, don't think they'd believe if I even tried to claim that so I think you're in the clear there.
[ And then Steve brings up what just happened, and Jonathan frowns. Looks out his window to avoid Steve's pitying expression. Only he's admitting they have something in common, and Jonathan swivels his head to look at Steve in surprise. ] Yeah, he's...I don't know what his problem is. I don't think he even wanted to be here, at all.
[ It’s funny, but Steve doesn’t know if he’s ever heard Byers laugh before. He was always so tense, his face wary of everyone and everything. It made him an easy target for Tommy and the others.
He sees him turn away from him out of the corner of his eye, but when Steve glances over at him, he’s looking back at him with surprise. He gives him a small nod of understanding. Steve knows about dads that don’t want to be there. ] Your parents are divorced, right?
[ Divorce was something that his parents refused to do, no matter how bad things got. As much as people whispered about the divorcees in town, Steve thought staying with someone you couldn’t trust was much worse. His mother was a staunch Catholic and his father refused to part with the fortune he’d amassed, so their marriage was a stalemate. ] That mean you only have to deal with him sometimes?
( Jonathan tenses a little bit when Steve asks if Joyce and Lonnie are divorced. He's used to people rubbing that fact in their face. And everyone always sides with Lonnie, as if the guy had ever shown any bit of interest in his own children, instead of trying to turn he and Will into versions of himself.
He nods quietly, still keeping his eyes trained out the window. )
Yeah, I almost wish he'd stop showing up. He doesn't give a shit about what Will likes, keeps dragging him to baseball games when he'd rather be at the arcade with his friends. And me, well. He keeps trying to get me to shoot a gun instead of a camera.
( It's the most he's probably spoken honestly to Steve in all the times they've crossed paths. He's surprised Steve even wants to listen to anything he says, but it is kind of nice, confiding in someone. It's not like he has many friends at all at school, and he can't exactly talk to his mom or Will. )
[ Steve huffs a little, tapping his fingers against the side of the steering wheel. He knows the way his own stomach sinks when he pulls into the garage and sees his dad's car parked in it's spot. Sometimes he wishes he'd stop showing up too.
He tries to picture Jonathan shooting a gun at anything and he can't. He might be the class outcast, but Steve's never really seen any sign of real violence in him. In fact, his outburst at his dad in the parking lot was the closest he's ever seen. ]
My dad used to play football. Shoves one in my hand every chance he gets. He could care less about basketball or swimming. Doesn't mean shit if it isn't football.
[ It's a little more than he meant to say. In fact, he's not sure he's told anyone. Certainly not Tommy who can throw a football further and smoother than Steve can. A fact that his dad hasn't let him forget since their last Thanksgiving game.
He reaches up and rubs at his mouth before forcing a grin.] Maybe they'll realize we're not just clones of them someday.
( Jonathan's head snaps to Steve, fixing him with a surprised expression. It isn't so much the substance of what he says that's surprising, as it is the fact that he's saying anything at all. And sure, Jonathan isn't so much into sports at all, but he gets the feeling that Lonny is cut from the same cloth as Mr. Harrington.
Who would have thought that he, Jonathan Byers, would have anything in common with the Steve Harringtons of the world? )
Maybe. My mom gets it, at least. She just lets us be, I think that drove dad crazy. ( He rubs the back of his neck, sighing as he thinks for a moment, about Steve Harrington. He doesn't really know too much about the family dynamics, but he remembers what his dad was like at the bitter end. )
I know I'm probably the last person you'd want to be around, but, you know. If shit ever gets to be too much and you need a place to lay low until it blows over... ( He regrets saying anything as soon as he says it. Of course Steve isn't going to want to hang out and listen to his stupid records. Who is he kidding? )
[ Steve can feel Byers' eyes burning a hole in the side of his head and definitely thinks he said way too much. So they both have shit dads, so do loads of people. But then he talks about his mom and Steve's grip on the steering wheel softens a little bit. ] My mom's cool, but she doesn't really push back against him.
[ He thinks about Mrs. Byers and seeing her working all the time. No matter how late it is or how loud they've been she always gives him, Tommy and Carol a smile and asks them how they're doing. He can see some of her in Jonathan, now that he's actually speaking and not just freezing up in anticipation of Steve being an asshole to him.
They're nearly to Byers's street, but Steve shoots him a surprised look, something warm twisting in his chest. Steve barely stops at a stop sign and turns down his street. He gives Jonathan a small smile. ] Come on, Byers. You're not that bad to be around. [ He slams on the brakes at the mailbox with the Byers name on it and reaches out his window to tap on the hood triumphantly. Mr. Byers car isn't in the driveway.] I think we did it!
( On the one hand, Jonathan is more than happy to be back home. But in a strange way, he wishes the drive were just a little longer. It's been a while since he's had anyone actually go out of their way to talk to him. Outside of his family, he doesn't really talk to anyone in a social way. He pours himself in music and photography and hopes that's enough to get by.
Now, what? He just has to go back to pretending that Steve is an asshole when they're at school? And he is, will be, because around Tommy and Carol he doesn't know how to hold himself back from taking things too far. He's seen it with some of the other so-called freaks of the school.
But, he smiles all the same, and gives Steve a nod. ) Looks like we did. Unless he decided to fuck off for the night instead of spending it at home, which really wouldn't be so bad. ( He shrugs, his smile faltering a bit. ) I guess I'll see you around then?
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Get outta my dreams, get into my car
It’s more than a little surprising, considering that as long as Steve has known the Byers kid he’s come across as quiet and awkward. Mild-mannered. Definitely not the boy standing in the middle of the parking lot glaring into the distance with his hands clenched at his sides. Steve thinks that if he ever talked to his father like that, he’d probably get kicked out of the house.
He finishes pumping his gas and walks by Byers to go inside to pay. When he emerges a few minutes later, Jonathan’s already walking along the road headed south. Steve knows the Byers live close to his own neighborhood of Loch Nora even if they are completely different parts of Hawkins. If he’s walking home, he’s got at least a good seven miles or more to go.
He slows the car when he pulls up alongside him. If Tommy and Carol were with him, he probably wouldn’t bother, just because they’d both give him shit for it, but they’re not here and it’s a long walk home. ] Hey, Byers! Need a ride?
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The camera that Lonnie got him for his birthday a couple years ago, but only because mom told him to.
He never fucking cared about any of his or Will's interests, and he never would. He kicks at the ground, an offending pebble skipping across the road, and he's braced himself for the reality that he's now doomed himself to walk home.
It also wouldn't be the first time he'd had to walk a few miles because he let himself get carried away. Still, it's his dad's fault he couldn't be assed to drop him back home and then drive away in a huff.
What he doesn't expect is for another car to pull up alongside him. He definitely doesn't expect to see Steve Harrington's face when he lowers the window, nor does he expect him to offer a ride. He freezes, glancing around to see if he's being pranked, but not only is nobody in the car with Steve, but there's no one around for miles. ]
Wait, really? [ And cautiously, he adds, ] What's the catch?
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He shakes his head, waving impatiently with his hand for him to get in. ] No catch, man. Get in before I get hit stalling here.
[ Maybe he could be a little nicer to the Byers' kid, but mostly Steve's path doesn't really cross his that often. They move in different circles, though he knows that his dad is clearly an asshole. That's one thing they have in common.
He sighs, frowning at him.] Look, you can walk if you want, but you're on the way home. If we hurry, we might even be able to beat your dad home.
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He sighs as he opens the passenger's side door and climbs in, quickly buckling his seatbelt and hunching over a little, almost as if making himself smaller. ]
Thanks. [ He manages a small smile, though keeps his gaze straight ahead. He wouldn't mind sticking it to his dad, that he managed to beat him home after he was being a grade A asshole. ] Look, uh. [ He winces as he realizes this probably isn't helping him seem like he trusts Steve at all, but...he knows who Steve's friends are. ]
If you wouldn't mention this to anyone tomorrow...I'd really appreciate it. [ The last thing he needs is for news to travel all throughout the school that Jonathan almost had to walk home because his dad got pissed off at him. ]
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[ He knows that's not what Jonathan means, but this is easier. He taps his steering wheel as he takes a turn on an old back road shortcut he usually reserves for when he's nearing curfew and needs to shave a few minutes off his way home. ] So your dad kind of seems like an asshole. I can't believe he left you there. [ A pause.] That's probably something mine would do too.
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[ And then Steve brings up what just happened, and Jonathan frowns. Looks out his window to avoid Steve's pitying expression. Only he's admitting they have something in common, and Jonathan swivels his head to look at Steve in surprise. ] Yeah, he's...I don't know what his problem is. I don't think he even wanted to be here, at all.
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He sees him turn away from him out of the corner of his eye, but when Steve glances over at him, he’s looking back at him with surprise. He gives him a small nod of understanding. Steve knows about dads that don’t want to be there. ] Your parents are divorced, right?
[ Divorce was something that his parents refused to do, no matter how bad things got. As much as people whispered about the divorcees in town, Steve thought staying with someone you couldn’t trust was much worse. His mother was a staunch Catholic and his father refused to part with the fortune he’d amassed, so their marriage was a stalemate. ] That mean you only have to deal with him sometimes?
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He nods quietly, still keeping his eyes trained out the window. )
Yeah, I almost wish he'd stop showing up. He doesn't give a shit about what Will likes, keeps dragging him to baseball games when he'd rather be at the arcade with his friends. And me, well. He keeps trying to get me to shoot a gun instead of a camera.
( It's the most he's probably spoken honestly to Steve in all the times they've crossed paths. He's surprised Steve even wants to listen to anything he says, but it is kind of nice, confiding in someone. It's not like he has many friends at all at school, and he can't exactly talk to his mom or Will. )
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He tries to picture Jonathan shooting a gun at anything and he can't. He might be the class outcast, but Steve's never really seen any sign of real violence in him. In fact, his outburst at his dad in the parking lot was the closest he's ever seen. ]
My dad used to play football. Shoves one in my hand every chance he gets. He could care less about basketball or swimming. Doesn't mean shit if it isn't football.
[ It's a little more than he meant to say. In fact, he's not sure he's told anyone. Certainly not Tommy who can throw a football further and smoother than Steve can. A fact that his dad hasn't let him forget since their last Thanksgiving game.
He reaches up and rubs at his mouth before forcing a grin.] Maybe they'll realize we're not just clones of them someday.
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Who would have thought that he, Jonathan Byers, would have anything in common with the Steve Harringtons of the world? )
Maybe. My mom gets it, at least. She just lets us be, I think that drove dad crazy. ( He rubs the back of his neck, sighing as he thinks for a moment, about Steve Harrington. He doesn't really know too much about the family dynamics, but he remembers what his dad was like at the bitter end. )
I know I'm probably the last person you'd want to be around, but, you know. If shit ever gets to be too much and you need a place to lay low until it blows over... ( He regrets saying anything as soon as he says it. Of course Steve isn't going to want to hang out and listen to his stupid records. Who is he kidding? )
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[ He thinks about Mrs. Byers and seeing her working all the time. No matter how late it is or how loud they've been she always gives him, Tommy and Carol a smile and asks them how they're doing. He can see some of her in Jonathan, now that he's actually speaking and not just freezing up in anticipation of Steve being an asshole to him.
They're nearly to Byers's street, but Steve shoots him a surprised look, something warm twisting in his chest. Steve barely stops at a stop sign and turns down his street. He gives Jonathan a small smile. ] Come on, Byers. You're not that bad to be around. [ He slams on the brakes at the mailbox with the Byers name on it and reaches out his window to tap on the hood triumphantly. Mr. Byers car isn't in the driveway.] I think we did it!
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Now, what? He just has to go back to pretending that Steve is an asshole when they're at school? And he is, will be, because around Tommy and Carol he doesn't know how to hold himself back from taking things too far. He's seen it with some of the other so-called freaks of the school.
But, he smiles all the same, and gives Steve a nod. ) Looks like we did. Unless he decided to fuck off for the night instead of spending it at home, which really wouldn't be so bad. ( He shrugs, his smile faltering a bit. ) I guess I'll see you around then?