madmax; ❛ CARDIGAN ❜
↷ stranger things
❝ one night out with people you hate will be worth it if you're there with me ❞

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Clary was resourceful, sure, but she never thought that she was smart. At least not in the way Nancy was. She sneaked her way through most of high school which was probably why she did not bother applying to college. She cheated, skipped classes, and did everything she could to pass. She was, however, good at reading other people's emotions.

And her brother Will? Well, he was never the same once he came "back to life". He seemed paranoid and was constantly on edge. He was afraid of his own shadow.

Clary did not want to come off as overprotective but by the time the new school year rolled around and summer faded into fall, her little brother was only getting worse. Which was how she found herself cornering Mike in his own kitchen.

Karen invited her and the rest of the Byers family for dinner and she was the only one who showed up. Joyce had to work and Will claimed to be sick which was something that Jonathan used as an excuse to stay at home. Clary was going to make up a lie to skip the dinner too, but when Nancy looked at her with those pleading doe eyes, her soul practically cracked open.

"Mike, I need you to tell me what's going on with him." She said in a pleading tone that she never used around him before. "He doesn't talk to me anymore. Not like he used to."

"He doesn't talk to anyone." Mike shot back, clearly frustrated by her cornering him in his own house and the fact that his best friend spent the last year refusing to talk about his own feelings.

Clary let out a tired sigh. She was worried sick and exhausted because she spent too much time worrying about her family's safety and well-being rather than how she was handling the situation herself.

"Will went through a lot, Mike──"

"We all went through a lot!" Mike snapped and Clary's mouth snapped shut. His eyes widened slightly when he realized his parents were in the room next to them. When he opened his mouth again, his words were almost a whisper. "We all went through a lot. We ran from bad guys. We were chased by monsters. We buried Will. Nancy's best friend is dead. We lost El."

Clary's eyes softened at the mention of the little girl. Nobody dared to speak her name anymore. Especially around the boys. She disappeared into thin air after supposedly closing a portal to the Upside Down. There was no trace of her anywhere. She could be dead for all they knew.

"I wouldn't like to talk about my problems either," Mike added. "I know that I probably should, but I don't want to. I'm not going to pressure Will into anything. He will talk to us when he is ready and I'm sure it's not going to be the one person who keeps pushing him."

Clary's eyes widened at his passive-aggressive tone and she gaped at him in surprise. "Mike..."

"I'm gonna go to bed." Mike said, his voice void of emotions. "Say hi to Will for me."

Clary watched him leave in complete silence. He matured so much over the past year. He used to be a dumb immature kid, but then he became this serious and responsible boy who cared about her little brother's feelings more than anything.

Mike was so protective over Will that it scared her at times. It felt comforting to know that Will was never really alone when he was just with his group of friends. Still, the raw emotion on Mike's face whenever Will even flinched terrified Clary.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Clary and Steve were hardly friends. She and Nancy were friends. Jonathan and Nancy were friends. But, Steve and the Byers siblings were still very much not on friendly terms.

Jonathan was never the one to forgive and forget, and neither was Clary but she did not want to lose her friendship with Nancy because of Steve ── again. They talked sometimes but never went out of their way to hang out. They were acquaintances, not friends.

Until he asked her to tutor him in English.

She was stunned at first. She was never a great student except when it came to that one particular subject. Steve told her that Nancy recommended her. Clary was suspicious but chose not to comment on it.

They sat in the library that morning during their shared free period and he asked her to read over one of his essays for college applications.

Clary squinted at the piece of paper the entire time she was reading the essay. When she looked at Steve, he immediately read every emotion on her face and his face fell.

"It's crap, I know."

"Kind of, yeah." Clary gave him a small apologetic smile. He looked so crestfallen that she almost felt sorry for him. "You just messed up the structure of the essay a little and I don't get the middle. The basketball reference to last month's game was great at the beginning but what does your grandpa fighting in the war have to do with anything?"

"Well, you know..." Steve blinked, blankly staring at the piece of paper in her hand, "we both won."

Clary squinted at him, in disbelief of how stupid the words coming out of his mouth sounded. "You can't compare a basketball match and a fucking war, Steve. No one will take you seriously. Maybe start from scratch and write about how much you're grateful that your grandpa put his life on the line for our country. Use that as something that pushes you to be a better person and protect who you love."

Steve stared at her in silence for a couple of seconds and let out a soft and relieved sigh. "How do you know exactly what to say, always?"

"Because I'm smart." Clary shrugged with a small smile.

He tilted his head and rested it on his hand. He looked at her with a smoldering look, his dark eyes soft and inviting. "How do you feel about coming over tonight to help me rewrite it?"

Clary cleared her throat and looked away from him. "Don't you and Nancy have that dinner with Barb's parents tonight?"

"Oh, my god!" Steve let out a loud groan at the realization. He ignored the warning from the librarian and looked at his girlfriend's friend with wide eyes. "Are you sure that's tonight?"

"Yeah." Clary nodded. "But I can hang back around the library with you after class if you really want my help."

Steve breathed out a sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing. "Thanks, Clary."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Nancy practically ran up to Clary after the fourth period with a bright orange sheet in her hand and a large smile on her face.

"You have to come to this!" She announced and placed the sheet of paper in front of her.

Clary gave her a confused look and then stared down at the paper. It was an invitation to a Halloween party. COME AND GET SHEET FACED - HOSTESS: CAROL PERKINS. Clary was taken aback by her excitement by a simple party. She was also surprised that Nancy thought Clary would even be allowed in.

Nancy's wide smile was unwavering.

"I'm not going to a party hosted by Carol." Clary deadpanned once she realized that Nancy did not pick that up just from the disgusted look on her face.

Nancy nudged her, still optimistic about it despite the situation. She knew how much Carol fucking hated Clary. After she found out that she and Tommy slept together, she tackled Clary and they ended up at the principal's office. Luckily, the principal decided to give Clary a break due to what happened with Will only a little bit before the fight.

"I'll get Steve to talk her into it." She whined, fluttering her doe eyes at her. "Please. It's been ages since we went to a party together. I just want to get wasted with my friend and have fun."

Clary pursed her lips and blurted out the last excuse she had at the moment. "I'm going trick-or-treating with Will."

"Jonathan just told me he was taking him." Nancy gave her a look of warning. "One night out with people you hate will be worth it if you're there with me, right?"

Nancy's long eyelashes brushed against her rosy cheeks as she gave Clary a coy and teasing smile. That girl sometimes failed to realize just how dangerous she was. She hid that underneath all her layers of sweaters and cardigans but it did not change the fact that Clary saw right through her. Nancy liked to push her own boundaries. Clary just wondered how she would handle the aftermath after crossing certain boundaries.

Before Clary got the chance to answer, Steve swooped in. He wrapped his arms around Nancy's waist from behind and spun her around. Nancy let out a loud surprise squeak and slapped her boyfriend's chest when he released her.

He grinned at her, a pair of sunglasses on his face. He leaned against one of the lockers and pulled Nancy closer by her waist with a bright grin on his face.

"Oh, my god. Take those stupid things off." Nancy laughed at the sunglasses while Clary tried to look at anything except for the couple in front of her.

Steve cooed. "I missed you."

"It's been like an hour."

"Tell me about it."

Steve pulled Nancy into a kiss and Clary threw up in her mouth a little. She clenched her jaw and closed her locker. Then, she soundlessly made her way to her next class.

Jealousy was no stranger to Clary. She always felt jealous of Nancy. Her entire life, Nancy's family had the money and the connections that Clary's family never would. Then, Nancy got Steve too and Clary never hated anyone more.

Watching Steve and Nancy in love was different than the last time. She didn't know if she hated Steve or Nancy more.