10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Will recovered pretty well over the next week, though his cough remained. Joyce confided in Jessica the fact that when she and Hopper had found Will, he'd had some tube-like thing down his throat, which was probably why the cough remained. His throat was probably irritated, and there was no way to know what exactly the tube had been doing, or why it had been in him.

Will was at home now, though he still hadn't returned to school. The environment of the Upside Down was extremely toxic – to the point that Hopper and Joyce had been made to wear haz-mat suits to go in – and the lab doctors didn't want Will around a lot of people until they were certain he wasn't contagious.

They were pretty sure he wasn't, it was just that he'd been over there for almost a full week, and they needed to make sure. Neither Nancy nor Jessica had shown any sign of illness and they had been over there, too, if only for fifteen minutes.

Jessica had nightmares about those fifteen minutes – that and the night she'd been clawed. She dreamed at least once every night. She'd been right about having been too tired to dream that first day, but now . . . boy, did she dream. She'd even taken to sleeping with the light on because it helped ground her when she woke up terrified. If there was light, then she wasn't in the Upside Down because there was no light over there.

Other than the nightmares, though, everything continued on as they normally did. She went to school and, after that first week, to work. She spent time with Steve when she could – without Tommy and Carol because Steve hadn't gone back to them – and worried about him when she wasn't with him. His parents were back home, though, and even though he was still essentially alone he had people at the house with him.

At school, things weren't that much different aside from the fact that everyone had heard about the fight between Jonathan and Steve and that Steve had lost big time. The proof was on his face, which still hadn't cleared up much. It wasn't swollen anymore, but the cuts were still there and the skin was still discolored.

Everyone knew about Nancy and Steve breaking up as well, but that wasn't big news because Steve didn't usually stay with the same girl for long anyway. The longest relationship he'd ever had with a girl was with Jessica, which didn't count because she'd never been his girlfriend.

For the few days his parents hadn't been home, Steve had picked Jessica up for school and taken her home. Because of her wounds Steve was allowed to carry her bag for her to her classes and it excused him from being late to his own.

She had her car now, though, because his parents were home, and she was at work, in the ticket booth. It was Friday and not as slow as other days usually were. Her wounds were healed up enough that she was sure they were not going to open up again, but sudden movement still made pain shoot through her.

Jonathan had started coming back to work, but he usually worked the custodial position. He preferred it that way because it meant he didn't really have to talk to anyone. Mostly he just cleaned up the popcorn on the floor after each movie and took the garbage bags out to the alley dumpster. Occasionally he was responsible for the bathrooms depending on the shift he was working.

They talked more than they used to, but it was only in passing at work because they weren't usually in the same area. She was strictly ticket booth and concession counter.

They talked at school – they all did: her, Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan. Steve and Jonathan were still a little iffy around each other, but they both had a sort of understanding that if one of those creatures ever came back around, they would have each other's back.

Jessica hung out at the Byers' house more often than before because she took Dustin over to visit Will – especially if he wasn't going to be back before dark. She didn't trust the night time as much as she used to, and the Byers' didn't live in town. Usually Mike and Lucas were there as well, still grateful that Will was alive and there with them, though she could tell that Mike was still messed up about El because he was more withdrawn than she'd ever seen him. He'd gotten close to her even though she'd been with them for only a week, and now he missed her terribly.

Joyce was keeping Will caught up with his school work – or Jonathan was, at her request. He picked up Will's assignments on his way home from school. Will had all the help he needed because they were all willing to help him.

The Byers house had been fixed – the hole Joyce had made with an ax, and the part of the roof that had collapsed under the pressure of the demogorgan ripping into their world.

It was close to Christmas vacation now, and Jessica had gone half-and-half with her mom on an Atari game system for Dustin. She would let him pick out a game for it later because she had no idea about those kinds of things.

She even asked Joyce if it was okay if she bought Will a new sketch pad because Will loved drawing, and his work was actually pretty detailed for someone his age. Plus, with everything he'd gone through he might need an outlet other than talking, and art was a healthy way to do that. Joyce had been fine with it – she was going to buy him new Crayons anyway, the pack that had over a hundred in it.

Jessica had no idea what to get Mike or Lucas – or Steve for that matter, but they always gave each other at least one thing every Christmas and every birthday, so she'd figure it out eventually.

At one point over Christmas break when Jessica was over at the Byers' place, she noticed that Jonathan had a new camera. She knew Joyce hadn't bought it because he never would have told her that his old one had been broken.

"You replaced your camera."

"Nancy gave it to me," he said, and then with a shy but knowing smile, "I think Harrington bought it, but obviously he couldn't give it to me himself."

"Right." She chuckled while beginning to feel warmth fill her insides. If Steve had bought Jonathan a camera to replace the one he'd dropped to the ground on purpose it was only fair, but it also meant that he really did want to make things right.

"No more sneaking pictures, though, right?"

"Right, well, I was only going to sneak them of you," he teased.

And with that he snapped a picture and she pretended to be offended.

"You better not develop that one."

"Why not? That'll be a great picture."

If he said so . . . He was the one who knew photography.

Two days later Jonathan showed her the picture he'd taken and he'd been right. It was a good picture. Not planned, obviously, so she hadn't been posing. Her face was open and bright, but there was also a softness to it. She'd been thinking of Steve, specifically him trying to do better and be better, and that was the moment Jonathan had captured.

She was unguarded in the picture, having been in a playful mood. She'd been comfortable and it showed in the way she'd been dressed – loose-fitting shirt and jeans – and the way her hair had been up in a messy bun, a few strands down and framing her face.

And this was going to be Steve's Christmas present – or part of it anyway.

"Can I have this?"

"Sure. It is you."

"Thanks. Now . . . where's the best place to get a nice frame?"

She settled on a light brown wooden frame, one that was just expensive enough that it wouldn't break easily. She placed the picture in it and wrapped it. She wrote Steve a little note and put it in an envelope before taping it to the wrapping paper.

This wasn't anything big, but she thought Steve would appreciate it, or at least she hoped he would. Especially the note she'd attached.

She gave it to him the day before Christmas and told him not to open it until he got home and to make sure he was alone when he read the note.

At that moment, though, they were just cruising around in her car. Steve had bought her a whole collection of cassettes of her favorite bands – mostly rock and pop – and they were now listening to one of them.

Snow was falling slowly from the sky, but the roads were safe – obviously, or she wouldn't have been driving around on them. Her hand was no longer bandaged, and there was only a faint line where the cut had been. Her stomach was mostly healed now too, but the scar lines there were pink instead of white, and she still felt some discomfort whenever she moved too suddenly.

Steve's face had healed, and there were no marks left behind. She hoped he'd remember them, though, and why he'd gotten them.

"So, you're coming over tomorrow, right?" Steve asked. "Please save me from all my dad's friends and the uncomfortable silences."

The Harrington's had an annual get together early in the day on Christmas. She usually went because he always invited her. He really did hate the parties his parents threw.

"I'll come for a little while." She sent him a grin. "Then I'm stealing you away so you can have dinner with me and my family."

It was sad, but his parents wouldn't miss him, and they didn't really have Christmas dinner, anyway, not after having the party.

"That – that's awesome." Then, "Why can't I open my present now?"

"Because I asked you not to."

The truth was . . . she was a little embarrassed by the note she'd written and didn't want to be in his presence when he read it.

When Steve got home that night he went to his room almost immediately. He gave his mom a quick 'hi' but that was it. That wasn't unusual, but he had a reason that night to want to get to his room.

He was curious about the note Jessica had written him. He could tell what the gift was by the feel of it, but he didn't know why she'd felt the need to write about it.

He unwrapped the present thinking he was going to find an old picture of them together, something to remind him of the friendship they'd shared and could share again now that he'd realized how much of a jerk he'd allowed himself to become.

But that wasn't what the picture showed. This wasn't a picture he'd seen before. The picture had been taken at the Byers' place – he recognized the background. She was seated on the couch, he could tell even though the picture was a close-up, her shoulders and her face. She was facing the camera, but she wasn't eyeing it, so she'd been taken by surprise. She'd been caught smiling – not beaming, but as if she were thinking of something that made her happy and maybe a little wistful. She'd also been caught in every day clothes. Clothes she wore at home when she knew she wasn't going anywhere, clothes that oozed comfort and relaxation. That meant she considered Jonathan a friend if she allowed herself to relax around him.

Her hair was up, but some of her curls framed her face messily. It made him smile. He loved when her hair was messy; it always seemed to fall in a way that made it seem as if she'd fixed it that way, as if she wanted it messy.

He moved on to the note then, opening it carefully. At a quick glance he saw that it wasn't very long, and he wondered again why she'd written it and why she couldn't have just told him instead. Then he read:

Dear Steve,

Jonathan is enjoying his new camera. He told me Nancy gave it to him, but he suspects that you bought it. I believe he's right. He snapped this picture of me when he told me that and when I realized it means that you really do want to make things right.

Admitting you're wrong and doing the right thing can be hard, but it is worth it, and I am proud of you. That's what Jonathan snapped a picture of – me being proud of you.

Love,Jess

Steve had not set out trying to make Jessica happy or proud of him when he'd bought Byers the new camera. He hadn't even wanted the guy to know he'd been the one to buy it, which was why he'd given it to Nancy to give to him, but Byers wasn't stupid.

He hadn't expected Jessica to find out, though, and he really hadn't expected to have her proud of him. His heart jumped at the thought because not many people had ever expressed that particular emotion towards him. He found that he liked it, and that it was coming from Jessica . . . made it better, sweeter. He cared what she thought about him, what she thought about in general, and hoped that one day she'd be able to tell him she was proud of him out loud and not just on paper.

When Jessica arrived at the Harrington's the next day, Steve met her at the door. They had to mingle for at least fifteen minutes so they wouldn't seem rude, but then they went up to his room. He put on some soft pop music on the radio.

She immediately found the picture she'd given him on his nightstand. If he wanted to, he could look at it before going to sleep. It was lined up with where his head would be placed on his pillow. The note was propped up against the side of the frame.

"Did you like your present?"

"I did," Steve said, smiling. "It's . . . different."

"Well, I seriously didn't know what to get you because you pretty much have everything you could possibly need. Then Jonathan took that picture and showed it to me. When he took it, I basically told him to get rid of it, but he didn't because he said it was gonna be a good one."

"He wasn't wrong."

She felt a smile begin to form at the compliment. She was happy he was satisfied with his gift and had even kept the note.

At her full height, Jessica still only reached Steve's chin, so she always had to lean her head back just a little to look into his eyes if they were standing close together, as they were.

"I meant what I wrote, Steve. I am proud of you."

Steve didn't get flustered or embarrassed easily, but he lowered his gaze away from hers as a shy smile came over his lips.

"Thanks."

She shrugged sheepishly as she felt a certain type of awkwardness fall over them, the kind that happens when there's a mutual attraction but neither person is brave enough to do anything about it. It didn't last long, but it had been there.

The thing was, they were great friends, and they obviously meant more than that to each other – but if they allowed themselves to feel that and do something about it, it could mess up what they already had. It scared her.

"Steve?" she whispered without really understand why she was doing it. She just thought speaking loudly would ruin the moment.

"Shh," he hushed, brown eyes suddenly softer but also sad. "You don't have to say anything. With everything that's happened –"

"I'm afraid," she blurted out. "Okay? I am afraid."

"Of what?" he asked, gently grabbing her arms and sliding his hands over them. "Of . . . me?"

"No!" she quickly assured him. "No. But there's something here between us, Steve. We've both felt it. Or . . . I hope you have, and that I didn't just embarrass myself."

He nodded, pulled her a little closer. "It's there. What's so scary about it?"

"Because it's us. You're my best friend. And if we did this and one of us messed up and we ended it, then we wouldn't be able to be best friends anymore. We wouldn't be able to, not after . . ."

"And what if we didn't mess it up?" He was speaking softly, his hands cupping her face now, her hands on his chest. "What if we tried and things went right?"

"Well, I –"

She'd honestly never thought of that because she'd only ever considered what would happen if things went wrong.

Steve's lips touched her cheek briefly and her breath caught in her throat at the contact. He caught her gaze with his and her heart fluttered at the small, sincere smile on his face. He had kissed her cheek before and she had kissed his, and it had never been a big deal, but this time it was. This was a turning point, so to speak, for them to either embrace their feelings and move forward or to ignore them and keep things the same as they had been.

"Was there anything scary about that?"

"Uh . . ." Her hands tightened over his shirt. "I'm not sure. Maybe we should try again."

His face brightened at her teasing, but he did as she'd requested only this time he kissed her lips instead of her cheek. As their lips met, Jessica felt something loosen inside her chest. She'd been waiting for this, she realized, waiting for Steve to want this with her and he finally did.

The kiss didn't last long – it was actually more an innocent skin-on-skin brush of the lips – but it was a good first kiss, and it made her feel warm inside because it was Steve she was kissing.

"Whoa," she whispered before biting her lip.

"Tell me about it," he said, hugging her to him.

She returned the hug and pretty much just nuzzled her face against his chest like a cat would when someone was petting it.

She wasn't afraid anymore. Sure, something could happen, but they actually cared about each other. They could at least try this out and see where it would lead.

Christmas dinner at the Henderson household was not a huge affair at all. They had ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, and coleslaw for supper. The best part was her mom's homemade apple pie, still warm, with ice cream.

Everyone ate at the table, Jessica and Steve sitting across from each other. They shared not-so-secret smiles with each other, and Dustin kept glancing between them with an arched eyebrow. He even gave her a grin, and a mischievous one at that. It was enough to make her blush and look down at the table.

Dustin knew – somehow – that things had shifted between her and Steve even though her mom was oblivious. How'd he know? They weren't acting differently, really. They just smiled at each other more.

She wondered then what people at school would say when they found out she was with Steve now. They hadn't discussed it, really, but they had kissed and to her that meant they were together now. People knew Steve's reputation and would probably assume things that weren't true. She would just have to deal with it. She couldn't control what people thought or said. She could only control how she reacted to it.

After everything was put away from dinner but while Dustin and Jessica were still washing the dishes, Dustin brought up the topic of Steve. He said, "I thought I was gonna have to put up some mistletoe for you guys, but I see my help is not needed."

"Hush!"

Steve was still in the kitchen, at the table. There was nothing for him to do really, so he was just sitting there.

"What? You were basically kissing with your eyes! I don't know how Mom missed it."

Her face was flaming and probably beet red. She was tempted to throw the dish rag at Dustin's face, but that would just make a mess that she would have to clean up.

"You're not allowed to kiss in front of me."

"Dustin!"

"What?"

"Lay off her, dude," Steve said, though he didn't seem upset. He actually sounded amused, if she was being honest with herself.

She wasn't upset at Dustin either, but he did need to let it go. It was not okay to tease her. Everything was new, and she wasn't exactly secure in the fact that she was now with Steve.

"Hey, go help your mom in the living room," Steve said. "I'll take it from here."

Dustin had been drying the dishes once Jessica washed and rinsed them. That was Steve's job now.

"You okay?" he asked after Dustin left the kitchen.

"Mm-hm. I just didn't know he would figure it out so soon."

"Do you . . . not want people to know?"

She could tell that he was hurt just by the thought of her wanting to keep them a secret. That wasn't what she wanted at all. She wanted to be open about it, but . . .

"I . . . Dustin's my brother. He's supposed to tease me. But what if everyone else does too?"

"Well, now that we're together you know I'm gonna be with you whenever I can between classes, and we share a few, so . . ."

"Right." She had never cared about what anyone had thought about her before, and she shouldn't care now. "I'm just being weird."

Steve was her first real boyfriend, though. She'd been on dates and gone to parties with different guys, but none that she'd actually cared about. They'd never been Steve.

"You're always weird," he quipped. "But that's okay."

He bumped her hip with his playfully, and just like that her mood lifted.

"So . . . we're gonna have to suffer through whatever Christmas movie Mom picked out before you go home. Is that okay?"

That was a Henderson tradition. They would always watch a holiday movie after Christmas dinner. Most of the time Jessica lost interest within fifteen minutes and fell asleep on the couch, but this time Steve was beside her. Instead of falling asleep, she used the time to get acquainted with Steve's hand. It had been resting between them, on the couch, and she'd slowly slid hers under his so she could slip her fingers between his.

Dustin saw this but didn't mention it; their mother may have noticed it, but her gaze remained glued to the TV.

She took in the small smile Steve gave her as he squeezed her hand, and she began rubbing small circles over the back of his hand with her thumb. It made his smile grow and she grinned at the effect she had on him.

Steve liked physical contact, she'd always known that. Jessica had never brought it up and she never would, but she thought it was because he never got the attention he needed from his parents – neither were big on showing affection at all – and so Steve got it elsewhere when he could.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. She'd done that before in front of Dustin and her mom, so it was no big deal for anyone but Steve and Jessica. It meant more that night, and eventually Jessica brought Steve's arm up and around her shoulders so she could rest more comfortably against him.

Her mom did look at them then. Even though her mom was usually oblivious to the things she and Dustin did – or at least appeared to be – she was noticing this, and she seemed to approve, which made Jessica happy

She still didn't pay much attention to the movie, but this time it was definitely not because she fell asleep. It was because of Steve Harrington and the adoring looks she sent him and that he returned. It was nice. More than nice; it was probably the best feeling she'd ever felt, warm and content – which meant a lot considering what they'd been through. It was almost weird to feel content after everything.

After the movie was over Jessica and Dustin opened their presents – every year they each got one expensive thing and the rest were small things. Action figures and comic books and things like that for Dustin. Lip gloss and other types of make-up for Jessica.

Dustin immediately went crazy when he opened his Atari and a game called Space Invaders with it. Mom had picked it out. It was not something Jessica would have picked, considering the monster thing they'd had to face not that long ago, but her mother didn't know about any of that.

Jessica went crazy too, but not over a game system. Her mother handed her a red box, one that obviously contained clothing. When she opened it, there was tissue paper surrounding the edges, but inside was a genuine leather jacket – not the dainty ones girls usually wore, either. This was more like the kind a biker would wear, something that looked nice but would also keep her warm.

"Mom?"

Jessica had never mentioned wanting a leather jacket – or any clothing period – but she had wanted one since she'd ruined the last one she'd had.

She held the jacket to her face and took in the coolness of the material. It felt smooth against her cheek, and it had a rich, earthy scent to it. She loved it.

She thanked her mom and hugged her before trying it on. It fit perfectly for her – meaning it was at least a size too big and she could squeeze it around herself.

"I love it!" she exclaimed. "I'm already coordinating outfits in my head."

Dustin rolled his eyes, but her mom smiled at her excitement while Steve took the time to appreciate his girlfriend in her new jacket.

When the night was over, Jessica walked Steve out to his car. She was in her new leather jacket, so she was nice and warm.

She noticed that Steve became alert as soon as they stepped outside. He looked around, shoulders tense, as if he were expecting an attack at any moment. With what they knew was around, she couldn't blame him.

"It bothers me too," she admitted. "Unless I'm working or with you or one of the others, I don't like being out at night."

At the car she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Knowing her brother, he'd probably be watching from the window. The hug she gave him lasted longer.

"You'll call me when you get home, right? Let me know you're okay."

"Sure."

He kissed her once more, longer this time, because he didn't really care if her brother saw them. She grabbed onto his jacket, suddenly wondering if she really wanted him to go. He could crash on the couch again.

She felt him smile against her lips, so she pulled away.

"What?"

"You realize we got together on Christmas, so we are basically gifts to each other."

"Well, that just means we have to take care of each other," she said, meaning every word.

"I like the sound of that."