Chapter Text
Summer of 1985
“It’s too hot to be out here. Can’t we go inside?” Nancy complained, not for the first time that night. The sun had set hours ago, but the teenagers were wide awake as they lounged in the Wheeler’s backyard. Nancy’s parents were asleep, so they kept their voices quiet, though the air seemed to absorb all the noise they made. Nancy was sweating, and the hair that had fallen out of her small ponytail was sticking to her forehead.
“It’s like eighty-five degrees, Nance,” Steve pointed out, clearly teasing her, and she glared at him. Unlike her, Steve thrived in the heat. He was dripping wet, having dumped a bottle of water over his head ten minutes earlier, and his white shirt was almost completely see-through, but he didn’t mind. Nancy got the feeling he’d planned for that.
“That’s hot,” Nancy whined in protest, and Steve stuck her tongue out at her.
“We can go inside if you want, Nance,” Jonathan spoke up from where he was sitting a foot away. He was sweating too, but other than that he seemed completely unbothered by the temperature. He was staring up at the sky, clear and starry, looking mesmerized by the view. His calm somehow spread to her, and Nancy suddenly felt less overwhelmed by the heat.
“No, it's alright. We can stay here a bit longer, I guess,” she said, trying to sound casual. She settled back onto the ground, looking up at the sky through the trees, and she smiled as she felt Steve lay beside down her. He knew better than to embrace her when she was this hot, but he laced their pinky fingers together as a solid source of contact.
“I’m gonna miss the stars in New York,” Jonathan decided suddenly, and Nancy couldn’t help but agree. Philadelphia wasn’t going to be as polluted as New York, but she doubted there would be this much light in the night sky.
“Is that the only thing you’re gonna miss?” Steve piped up, and though he sounded happy-go-lucky, Nancy felt her heart clench painfully.
They didn’t talk about college, though that was all they thought about these days. College had become the Unspoken Thing looming in front of them, and It never really left them alone. Now it was August. Nancy had a box of winter clothes already packed away, and a stack of textbooks on her desk, and still they stayed silently defiant about It, not daring to mention that in less than a month, they would all be separated. Nancy squeezed her finger around Steve’s, feeling a bit of tension disappear when he squeezed back.
“That, and having you as such an easy target,” Jonathan deadpanned, but Nancy could just picture the small satisfied smile that was playing on his lips.
By her side, Steve huffed, equal parts amused and offended. “Shut up Byers, you love having me around,” he argued, kicking dirt at the other boy.
Jonathan glanced back, raising his eyebrows. “So you say,” he drawled sarcastically.
“Nobody can spend this much time around me without falling in love with me. Not even you, Johnny.” Steve shot back the words confidently.
From where she was, Nancy could see Jonathan grin, and she felt her heart rate increase. Jonathan smiled more now that they were friends, but most of the time it was subtle, quiet, like he wanted to smile but wasn’t sure if he was quite allowed to. This, though, was purely happy, relaxed, open, like he trusted them with something secretive, and Nancy would never get tired of it.
“Stop your brooding and come over here,” Steve spoke up again, reaching for the boy like a lazy child reaches for a carton of milk. Jonathan, still grinning, crawled over obediently. As soon as he was close enough, Steve grabbed at his arm and pulled him to lay down beside them, Steve in the middle.
The three of the watched the sky, although there wasn’t the slightest whisper of wind or movement to follow. There was something deeply sad about the silence after a second, like they were all already hundreds of miles apart despite being pressed against each other.
“I’m finally out in the clear and I’m free,” Steve suddenly spoke up, speaking the poetry in a quiet and meaningful tone. “I’ve got dreams I’m living for. I’m moving on where they’ll never find me, rolling on to anywhere.”
Nancy didn’t say anything, letting the words seep into her as she mulled them over. There was a pause and then-
“Did you just quote Journey at us?” Jonathan asked, laughter in his voice, and Steve wasted no time in throwing a handful of dirt at him. Nancy rolled onto her side to watch them, and whatever heavy sadness that had settled over them evaporated.
This was the way it was supposed to be. College couldn’t change that.