Work Text:
june 13th, 1975
jonathan sat in his room, tucked in bed with the covers pulled to his chin.
there’s yelling coming from the kitchen, will and dad are fighting and mom wasn’t here to diffuse it. she might have a late shift.
jon flinched when he heard a loud thud then the sound of a door shutting hard. his older brother’s shouts continued yet became distant.
tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, scared to leave but scared to find out whats happening, scared to get involved.
the boy squeezed his eyes shut, repeating good things in his head.
mom. will. the clash. redbone. pibb xtra. werewolf by night #31, or is it 32? monty python and the holy grail.
he keeps on thinking more or the same until he feels himself get drowsy, losing himself to sleep.
___
its not long until jonathan is suddenly awake. he stays in place, looking at his surroundings.
the room is still dark, so are the lights outside of his room.
he should probably go turn those off.
jon moves off the bed and takes careful steps, slowly opening his bedroom door. he grimaced as the hall light shined the more he opens it.
he takes off down the hallway, making sure not hit any of the creaky floorboards.
once in the living room, his father was passed out with a beer bottle in hand, almost slipping. as expected.
the tv was on low, but jonathan wasn’t gonna turn it off, afraid he might make his presence known.
he continues to the kitchen, turning off all the lights. even noticing the porch lights on and flipping that switch too.
he makes his way back to the hallway, finally turning its light switch off.
before even thinking about going back to bed-he goes straight to his brothers door.
jon turns the knob, relieved his brother wasn’t locked in this time. he’s already lightened up to the point he forgets to be quiet, quickly opening the door without care for the loud creak.
where’s will?
jonathan turns the lights to wills bedroom on, looking around. he’s not in bed, asleep. or drawing or humming.
where is he?
pursing his lips and eyebrows furrow in confusion. where would will be? maybe he’s at a friends house. he’s always with his cool friend, dustin. maybe he’s sleeping over at mike’s, nancy’s older brother.
shoulders slumped, he turns the lights off and shuts the door, heading back to his room.
___
“hey bud.. wake up.”
jonathan awakes, belatedly rising from his pillow.
“hey son, we’re getting breakfast at bennys. that sound good?”
his father says at his bedside with a soft smile, hand clasped on jon’s shoulder.
jonathan, still in a sleepy state, nods.
“cmon.” his dad says while standing up. “it’s a lazy day, don’t gotta get dressed and all that.”
that wakens him up a bit, quickly getting out of his bed to follow his dad out of the room and into the kitchen.
his father can be scary but sometimes he’s fun.
jon notices will by the front door and takes his chance to hug his brother while their dad gets his keys.
“will! where were you?” the boy asks with his face pressed into his brothers torso. will hugs him back without hesitation.
“dustins.” will answers, bluntly.
jon looks up at his brother, noticing the heavy eyes and bags underneath them. he’s still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.
“did you guys stay up all night?” jonathan tries with a small smile.
“mhm.” the older boy hums, face still blank.
jonathan’s smile fades and detaches from his brother. wills being off again, he stops smiling and talking whenever dad does something. but what did dad do this time?
“found ‘em!” their father yells from the kitchen and starts walking towards the two. “alright boys, throw on whatever shoes near the door and let’s hit the road, yeah?”