3. I Want You To Want Me

Wow guys, I am super happy! I'm feeling the love for this story and it just keeps me writing more! I just can't stop! So… thank you!

I'm thinking about making a tiny playlist for each chapter, seeing as I do mention a lot of musicians/songs. I'll think about it, because I'm listening to these songs while I'm writing, so it would not trouble me at all :) Let me know if you're interested! :)

And please, let me know what you think. About Tina and her relationships with the characters, about what could happen, about a favorite part or about something you hated. I'm open to criticism, as I want to make this good. I'll start writing the next chapter as soon as I post this one so…

Favorite, follow and review if you like it. And enjoy this chapter! :)

One month later

"Shit!" I hear a yell and I come running to the living room.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

"I'm running late," Joyce sighs as she tries to stir the food and get her jacket on at the same time. "I'm running late for work and I haven't finish dinner and Jonathan isn't a good cook and I've promised the moms that the boys will have enough to eat and…"

"Joyce, deep breaths," I tell her as I walk towards go. "Go. Don't be late for work. Jonathan and I can manage on our own. I'll do the cooking; the boys won't go home hungry." I reassure her.

"Oh Tina, I can't ask that of you." she shakes her head, but she just looks… desperate. She needs saving.

"You're not asking, I'm offering," I correct her, giving her a small smile. "It's okay, really. I'm here anyways. Go to work and kill it. When you come back, both of them will be sound asleep."

"Oh Tina, you're such an angel," she laughs as she pulls me in for a hug. "A true life savior."

"It's a good title," I shrug, making Joyce laugh. I take the wooden spoon from her hand and I watch as she runs around the place as she gets ready; I occasionally stir the food. Sloppy Joes, I can pull that off. "Try the dirty jeans, Joyce!" I yell when I hear her mumbling that she's looking for her car keys.

When I first met her, she was Mrs. Byers and I was all nice and polite, like a proper little girl. By the end of the day, she was Joyce and I was myself. She was fairly young when she had Jonathan, meaning she's not one of those ancient parents. She's a cool woman, who works hard and sometimes really struggles to provide for her kids. Being from a well standing family, this wasn't something that I was used to, but seeing her determination and strength, it only made me want to help. If that means I have to cook dinner for a bunch of kids, it's not going to be a problem.

"Found them!" Joyce yells and I smile as I stir the food again, careful not to burn it; I lower the heat a bit. I'm hardly a chef, but if there's one thing I have learned from mom, it's that it's better to cook it on a low heat for a longer period of time then to try to make it super-fast with the heat cranked to the top. "You know, when Jonathan brought a girl home, I wasn't expecting her to save my life every other day." Joyce comments as she walks back in the kitchen.

"Well, to be fair, he didn't exactly bring me home," I point out. "I just… followed him inside. And seeing as I'm around here every other day, why wouldn't I help? It's kind of fun."

"A life saver," she mumbles again as she rushes over to me to give me a quick kiss on the cheek; the woman loves me. "The boys should head home by eight. Where the hell is Jonathan?"

"In the shower," I tell her. "They'll be home, don't worry. And go, you're going to be late!" I urge her. Finally, she listens to me. I check the clock as I hear her start the car; I think she might make it on time.

It's a bit weird, I'll admit to that. When I found a friend, I didn't expect him to come in a package that included his mom and his little brother, even his brother's friends, occasionally. But Joyce seems to like me and so does Will; I haven't had much of a chance to talk to his friends, but they are often here when I am. And I have been hanging out at the Byers's place quite a bit lately.

Here, Steve can't bug me. Sure, he'll bug me when I get home, asking me where I've been and all of that, but at least I can hang out with Jonathan in peace. I can deflect my brother's questions but I'm afraid it's a matter of time before he starts asking them in front of our parents. I can deflect their questions as well, if they decide to ask them but as a girl, a younger child at that, I have less freedom than Steve ever did. I am the one that should be safely hidden away from all the wrongs of the world. And I don't want to. Especially when all the wrongs are my friend, his mom and a bunch of kids.

"What are you doing?"

I turn around to see a confused Jonathan running a towel through his damp hair; he looks at me, full of doubt. I guess he doesn't think I know my way around the stove. Seeing as their house is largely wooden, we would be in trouble, but luckily for them, I'm a pretty capable girl.

"Joyce was running late and she told the moms that she'll serve dinner to the boys," I explain, returning my attention to the food I was making. "She can't be late for work."

"Yeah, but you're not our maid, Tina," Jonathan sighs. "You don't have to do this."

"Jonathan, shut the hell up," I laugh at him. "I'm helping because I want to. End of story. Go check on the kids and tell them that dinner will be done soon."

Jesus, I sound like a housewife, a proper housewife with four children.

At least Jonathan fits the role of the husband perfectly, as he listens to me.

I find a clean spoon, grab a bit of food and blow on it before I taste it; yup, it's cooked. I take it off the stove and I find the burger buns on the counter. I am still cutting them when Jonathan comes back into the house and starts getting the plates ready.

"Here, let me help," he takes the knife from my hand and I move on to making the sandwiches with the buns I've already cut in half. "Do you want me to drop you off later?" he asks.

"Nah," I shake my head. "Joyce is working and I don't want you to leave Will alone."

"It's 20 minutes max, he'd be fine," Jonathan shakes his head. "He can ride with us if he doesn't want to stay alone for a little while. I don't want you walking back home in the dark."

"It's Hawkins, Jonathan," I laugh. "What kind of bad thing could ever happen here?"

"I don't know and I'd rather not test it," he persists. "You don't live close and I'm not letting you walk back home."

"Let's talk about it after we eat, alright?" I mumble, knowing I will have my way. I'm not letting him leave his brother alone just because he thinks I need a chaperone on my way back home. I've walked back home from her a few times already, I'll live. If all else fails, I'll call and have Steve pick me up, even if that's the last thing I'd want to do.

"Should I play some music?" he asks me, smiling down; damn him and his height, I always feel like a kid when I stand next to him; he's at least a foot taller than me.

"Give me something good," I nod, filling up sandwiches as I speak. He disappears and it doesn't take him long to pick a song and I start laughing at his choice. "I said something good, Byers!" I laugh.

"What's wrong with 'Cheap Trick'?" he asks; I jump up in surprise. With the music blasting through the house, I didn't hear him walking over to me. "Sorry."

"You need to stop scaring me like that," I laugh. "Go get the boys, dinner is ready." I tell him.

"Yes ma'am!" he salutes me, and I punch him in the shoulder, which makes him laugh; he always laughs at me whenever I do something like that.

"I want you to want me, I need you to need me," I sing along to the song, under my breath. I turn around moments later, to find Jonathan, Will and all of Will's friends sitting down at the table. I smile as I start serving the food. "Bon appetite boys; be good and eat your veggies."

"Aren't you going to eat with us?" Will asks me.

"Nah, I had a late lunch."

"Are you trying to fit into your school dance dress?" one of Will's friends asks me. Of course, Jonathan laughs; I am taken aback by the balls this kid has to just say something like this.

"Kid, are you implying that I need to lose weight?" I laugh.

"No!" he defends himself at once. "No! You're… good. It's just… my sister always does that when there's a school dance coming up and she doesn't need to lose weight either." He mumbles.

"Ah, you're Nancy's brother, aren't you?" I remember Jonathan telling me that one of the kids is the younger brother of Nancy from our class. He nods his head. "You're right, kid, Nancy doesn't need to lose any weight, ball dress or not. But neither do I; you don't need a dress if you're not going to the dance." I shrug as I lean on the counter, lighting a cigarette.

"Aren't you going with Jonathan?" another boy asks; I think his name is Dustin, if I remember correctly. I burst out laughing when Jonathan nearly chokes on his sandwich.

"Easy with the questions, you nearly killed him there." I laugh.

"Well, why aren't you going together?" Dustin asks. "I thought the two of you are making out every now and then." He blurts out. This time, I actually have to hit Jonathan on the back to stop him from choking; he's nearly dying but I'm laughing.

"No, we're not making out," I chuckle. "We're just friends, we're not dating."

"Why not?" Will asks; I can tell by the look on Jonathan's face, he wasn't expecting his baby brother to be the one to sabotage him. "I mean, you're cool. You hang around together all the time."

"I am cool," I confirm, making all of them laugh. "You hang around with… Mike?" I check, causing Nancy's brother to nod and confirm that's his name. "You hang with Mike, Dustin and… Lucas?" I check again and the third boy nods. "Are you dating them?" I ask, earning a chorus of "ews". "See?"

"Okay, I get it," Will laughs. "But still, why not? I mean, you're pretty."

"Aw, thank you Will," I chuckle as I muss his hair. "See, calling a girl pretty? That's good thinking. You'll know your way around girls in no time; they'll all be running after you. Hell, you're 12 and you're better at talking to girls than your brother is."

"Burn!" Lucas yells, laughing along with the other boys.

"Ha-ha," Jonathan rolls his eyes, although I can see that he's a bit red in the face. "Just because I don't have a girlfriend doesn't mean I don't know how to talk to girls."

"Yeah, you keep telling that to yourself, bud," I tap him on the shoulder, making the boys laugh again. "But back to the subject; school dances aren't much fun, guys. They could be if you have a date, but if you don't… well, they're a piece of shit."

"I like her." Mike gives Will a nod of approval. I exchange looks with Jonathan, both of us laughing.

"You got our stamp of approval," Lucas tells me, with Dustin eagerly nodding his head. "Jonathan, you can take it from here."

"I love you guys!" I laugh, watching as Jonathan goes all read in the face and just shakes his head.

It's just… it's not like that. We just get along well, that's all. I mean, yeah, getting along well is the most important part of every single relationship but things aren't like that with Jonathan and me. He's my friend. Best friend, actually. Well, only friend, if I'm being super specific. You don't ruin friendships like these with dating or something stupid like that. In just a space of a few weeks, he went from a stranger to someone I genuinely enjoy spending time with.

It's crazy, but we've become inseparable. It goes from taking photos together, sharing notes and him listening to me trash talking Steve. And yes, I cook dinner for his brother and his friends.

You don't ruin friendships just to make out in the backseat a few times.

"How about you guys finish eating and go back to your game, huh?" Jonathan suggests in annoyance.

"So that you and Tina can make out in peace?" Lucas asks, while Dustin and Mike start making kissing noises. Will, bless him, just laughs at his friends and doesn't make the situation worse.

"Dude, just ignore them." I laugh at Jonathan; if he gets all rustled, they'll keep it up. Kids are… kind of like dogs. If they see fear, they will attack. He just shouldn't show fear, even if fear is blushing at their comments about us making out. I'm keeping my cool, wearing my poker face and they aren't teasing me; at least not as directly as they are teasing him. Really, Jonathan should learn a thing or two from me; maybe the time has come for me to give him some advice about girls. Then again, it would be a bit difficult to make that kind of knowledge practical, seeing as I'm literally the only girl he talks to.

He's hopeless, but I wouldn't change about him.

"I don't know," I shake my head. "I don't like the idea of leaving you alone, Will," I tell the boy, completely ignoring his big brother that was leaned on the door, a few feet away from us. "I've walked home before, I'm not afraid of the dark."

"You don't have to be afraid," Will tells me with a small smile. "And you've never walked home when it was this late. Go, I will be fine. Jonathan can lock the doors. Besides, he knows mom would kill him if he doesn't drop you off." He gives his brother a pointed look. I can totally see that happening, though. Joyce is protective by nature and it wouldn't come as a surprise if she had transferred that protectiveness on me as well. Ugh, I don't want Jonathan to leave Will but I don't want to get him in trouble. Even if I don't really feel like walking all the way home.

"Fine," I reluctantly agree. "I'll see you late this week, okay?" I ask the boy who was already covered with his blankets and making himself cozy.

"Yeah," he beams up at me. "I want you to check out my artwork for Mr. Clarkson, yeah?"

"Of course," I smile up, knowing how much time he had the last time I had helped him with his school assignment; we only need to pray that Mr. Clarkson doesn't remember my drawing style. Although, I'm not actually doing the work for him, I'm just helping him with it, seeing as Jonathan can't draw for the life of him. All of the talent that he has went right into photography. "Good night, kiddo. Don't let the bed bugs bite." I joke, giving him a high five before I follow Jonathan out of his brother's room, leaving the light on. "Let's go, I don't want you to leave him alone for too long."

"He has been alone before, you know that, right?" he asks as I run around the living room, grabbing my things; jacket, backpack, cigarettes. Yup, that would be it.

"Yeah, but never because of me," I point out. "Come on Jonathan!" I urge him as I rush onto the porch; he follows me, laughing at me.

I finally relax as we drive away from his house; he'll be back with Will in 20 minutes, tops. Although, my leg is still jumping up and down as I zone out and listen to the Talking Heads.

"You do know that you don't have to do any of this?" Jonathan suddenly speaks up, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Any of what?" I ask in confusion.

"All of this," he shrugs; he keeps his eyes on the road but I can read his facial expression, despite having nothing more than streetlights to help me; something's troubling him. "Helping us, cooking dinner because my mom had to go to work, helping Will with his homework… you don't have to do it."

"You do realize that no one is forcing me into it, right?" I ask. His words make it sound as if someone is making me do all these things, which is far from the truth. "I'm having fun, Jonathan. Your brother is a great kid and your mom is fun and kind. Not only do I not have a problem with doing any of the things you've mentioned, but I actually enjoy doing them. Chill Byers, okay?" I laugh, hoping that might laughter might chase his worry away; it seems to work, because he finally cracks a smile.

"I'm chill," he laughs. "I just don't know how to… repay you for that, that's all."

"We're friends," I roll my eyes. "Friends don't have to repay for anything. Friends do shit like that, no questions asked. Friends don't apologize for stupid things like you've tried to do, just now."

"Friends shut up if you want to listen to music in peace?"

"Exactly."

He knows me well. He knows I wanted to zone out and just enjoy the cold air that's slapping my face through the cracked window. It's getting colder; we'll be in Halloween season in no time.

Crap, I haven't even thought about a costume.

Okay, can my brain even stick to a single topic for longer than 15 seconds?

"Here we go," Jonathan's voice snaps me out of my imagination; I haven't even realized that we've gotten to my street. Parked at the very end of it, like always. There's no need for my parents to see me being dropped off by him at this hour. "See you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure," I nod. "Thanks for the lift. Don't keep Will waiting." I say as I lean over to grab my backpack from the back seat; I nearly fall over but I manage to stay in place. "See ya, Byers."

"Hey, Tina," he speaks up. I wait for the follow-up, with my hand on the door handle. "I think that… I don't know, I, I think that maybe we should go to the dance after all." he mumbles. I wait for laughter to signalize that it's a joke but I don't hear it. He's serious. And I burst out laughing.

"Jonathan Byers," I barely manage to form words because I'm laughing so hard. And Jonathan looks surprisingly uncomfortable. "Please tell me those kids teasing you hasn't made you grow a pair."

"What? No!" he snaps. "No, no! It's not that. I just… we're young only once, right? School dances suck but we won't have them when high school is over. It would be a shame to sit home alone, right?"

"Oh, so you're asking me out of pity? Is that what it is?"

I can't believe him. Did I leave an impression of a girl that is desperate about going to the dance with someone, anyone, anyone at all? Is that what he thinks of me? And if that's what he really thinks, does he think he's some sort of… knight in shining armor that can just waltz in and be my hero?

"No! No, Tina, no!" he all but yells. "That's not what I meant, not at all. I just… why not go and have fun? If I'm going to go to the dance with anyone, I'd like to go with my friend and… make fun of the music they play and just have fun."

"Byers, if that's what you wanted, then you really picked out a wrong way to ask because I literally thought of everything else before I realized what you were asking. What happened to "Do you wanna go to the dance and laugh at how lame it is?" I laugh, feeling relieved. He laughs too and just shrugs; he can say whatever he wants; he can't talk to girls. Not even girls that are his friends. "Yeah, sure, I'll go with you. Maybe we can sneak in a couple of beers and laugh as they slow dance to… I don't know, Spandau Ballet or something." We laugh at my comment.

"That actually sounds pretty good."

"I know, right?" I laugh. That's like the definition of a good time. I'd much rather exchange sarcastic comments than slow dance to some cheesy song. "Do you know what we should do? We should… Jesus Christ!" I yell when I hear a loud bang right next to my head. My heart is still racing, even when I see that it's my brother and not some sort of maniac. "Steve, are you absolutely insane?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I snap at him, knowing he could hear me well enough.

"Was I interrupting something?" he asks, leaning on the glass of the cracked window, making it slide down under his weight; jackass, he can break the freaking window!

"No." Jonathan shakes his head.

"Yes!" I snap.

"Wow," Steve laughs at us. "You two really need to agree on some things."

"Steve, can you go and be a jackass elsewhere?" I grow at him; not only did he scare the shit out of me, but he's just being mean, for no good reason. "Actually now, I'm not gonna give you the space to be a jackass at all. I'll see you tomorrow, Jonathan." I mumble, not even looking at him, as I open the door, hitting Steve on the legs in the process.

I start matching down the street and towards the house, with my brother following me; I don't hear Jonathan driving away and I turn around, just in case. He gives me a questioning look and I just nod my head; Steve can be a jackass but he's also my brother. If I'm safe with anyone, I'm safe with him.

I wait for Jonathan to drive away before I stop in my tracks and finally face my brother.

"You know, you should really learn to keep your mouth shut sometimes."

"What the hell did I say?" he yells.

"Oh, you know exactly what you said and you know why you said it too!"

"It's not my fault you two aren't putting a label on it," he raises his hands as if he's surrendering. "I told you, he's a freak. Any normal guy would have already asked you out, instead of just hanging out, for no reason at all."

"First of all, he is not a freak and stop calling him that. Second of all, there is a reason, Steve," I snap; I can't even follow him anymore, I have no idea what he's saying. He makes it sound as if two people of the opposite sex can't simply spend time together without making out or having sex. "We hang out because we're friends. We're not dating, nor will we. Jesus, you make it sound as if you want him to ask me out! You'd throw a tantrum and you know it."

"I wouldn't throw a tantrum," he denies it and I just roll my eyes. He would. He can say whatever the hell he wants to say, I know he'd throw a tantrum. "Look, I'm just looking out for you. You hang around his place all the time. Who knows what… I mean, I'm just worried."

"And thank you for being worried," I mumble, reminding myself that he's acting like this for my best interest. If I was the big brother out of the two of us, I'd be the same. Maybe a bit nicer, but just as protective as he is. "But you truly have no reason to be worried at all. Yeah, we hang out at his place a lot. Most of the time, we're joined by his mom and four 12-year-olds. So really, Steve, you can drop it. We're just friends. Him taking me to the dance won't change anything."

"Wait, he's taking you to the dance?" Steve asks in disbelief.

I should have just stopped talking. I need to learn when to keep my mouth shut.

"Yeah, we're going as friends."

"As friends?" he laughs.

"Yes!" I yell. God, if we keep it up with this screaming match, we will wake mom and dad! "Steve, find something else to be stressed about. This is getting very annoying." I march on, completely ignoring his complaints as he walks behind me. He doesn't stop talking, not even when we get into the house.

"Whoa, where were the two of you?"

Shit. I was pretty sure mom and dad would be asleep.

"Out." Steve and I both respond at the very same time.

"We realize that much," Mom laughs as she walks into the hallway. "Where?"

"I was at the movies and Tina was with her boyfriend."

"Jesus Christ Steve, he's not my boyfriend!" I yell. He just threw me under the bus. Just like that, he threw me under the bus, not even thinking about how that could end up for me.

"Isn't he taking you to the dance?"

He threw me under the bus the second time. I'll kill him. I'll fucking kill him.

"Wait, who is this boy?" mom asks, shifting her look from Steve to me. "And why don't we know anything about this? Tina?" she gives me a pointed look. Steve is so dead. He is beyond dead.

"Mom, he's not my boyfriend," I do my best to look calm, knowing she could probably smell my irritation; I will not let Steve win this battle. "He's a friend. A good friend. If I ever have a boyfriend, you'll be the first one to know," I lie, knowing I would never tell her; if she finds out, it's because she did her own digging. "If I were you, I would worry more about Steve impregnating one of his monthly sluts."

"Tina! Language!" she snaps. It is absolutely worth it. The look on Steve's face makes it worth it.

"I'm just saying, I remember the birds and the bees but I'm not sure Steve does."

Steve is still cursing me as I run up the stairs.

No, he did not win this war, but he brought attention to me. Attention I didn't want or need. It won't be long before mom starts being nosey and asking questions I don't feel comfortable with answering. I'm sure the dance will bring them my way, but as long as there's nothing to actually say, I'll be good.

It's not like I'm lying. It's just Steve's denial; he doesn't want to accept that I'm saying the truth. Oh well, if he is going to throw me under the bus, the least I can do is to grab him by the neck and bring him down with me.