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Nancy and Jonathan are in love, but they can't tell anyone. They clandestinely attacked a covert arm of the United States government. They're neck deep in interdimensional warfare. There's the little matter of Nancy's ex, of whom they both think the highest, and don't want to hurt.
So it's a secret affair for now. They sneak in windows. Make out in the dark. Leave concealed notes for one another. It's like Romeo and Juliet, with the occasional demon fight.
Steve doesn't know what the situation is, and Nancy doesn't inform him. In that tiny meanness, perhaps, is her revenge for something she knows she did to him.
***
Within the week, Nancy gets a hint that dating Jonathan is not going to be like dating Steve.
They're studying The Grapes of Wrath for English class. They're in her room, reading it together, when Jonathan rises and begins to pace around. He sees parallels to his own family. He's angry, he's passionate, he's making connections to other things he's read, to the history of America politics.
She's surprised. With Steve, she was always the tutor. That's clearly not going to be the case anymore.
In class, they end up being the most vocal students, seizing control of the conversation from Mrs. Peppin. It's something she's never experienced before. She likes it.
***
Their story hits the newspapers. Jonathan reads it alongside her in the school library. For days afterwards, she feels like she's being watched constantly. Marsha Holland calls her that night, asks if she saw the story, bursts into tears on the phone.
At Barb's funeral, it hits her how almost everyone present believes a lie. It's better than nothing, but it's so far from good. She embraces Mr. and Mrs. Holland, weeps with them.
At the grave, Nancy whispers “I promise.”
She doesn't know what she promises. But it has to be something. For Barb. For Nancy's debt.
***
The day after the funeral, Chrissy Cunningham corners her before homeroom, takes her hand, and says “I'm so sorry.”
Nancy's taken aback. The whole basketball crew pretty much stopped acknowledging her existence after she broke up with Steve. But Chrissy always did have the biggest heart among them. It was sweet of her to say something.
***
Nancy needs to tell her mom she's dating Jonathan, because she needs her mother's cooperation. Mom seems very pleased. Mom always thought Jonathan was a polite boy who was good to his mother.
Nancy suspects her mom never trusted Steve, thought Steve was going to pump her and dump her. Which wasn't fair to Steve. But that's the past now.
***
They volunteer for the Snow Ball together. She dispenses refreshments; Jonathan mans the photographer's station. Across a crowded gymnasium, they smile. Even though they don't exchange a dozen words all evening, it's somehow one of the most romantic nights of her life.
***
Will puts a drawing on the Byers' fridge: BOB NEWBY, SUPERHERO.
Joyce seems like a widow without a wedding.
***
For Christmas, Nancy gets Jonathan “Let It Be,” an album by The Replacements that she knows he's been wanting. He gets her a buddha's eye necklace with a silver chain.
Over Christmas break they walk through the snowbound woods at night, the waxing moon shining through the barren trees, transforming it from the eerie forest they once crept through, the strong, strong light banishing all fear. For the first time he says I love you, and she says it back, and they kiss under the moon, and she could stay like this forever and ever.
***
She teaches him, he teaches her. Nancy's never felt anything like this before. They open worlds to each other. Jonathan introduces her to bands they don't play on the radio. She begins to like them.
***
Jonathan's window is on the ground floor. With a little help, Nancy can vault her way in, and (in the morning) jump out. They find this useful.
***
In the weeks after the story comes out, they get into the habit of going early to the school library and reading the newspapers. The Hawkins Post. The Indianapolis Star. The Chicago Sun-Times (Murray's old paper!)
She begins to think being a journalist is something she might want to do. To fight for the truth. To make “Them”--the priests, the postmen, the teachers, the world at large—see the world as it is. To help future Barbs.
***
She's alone in the house, in the dining room. Noises come from upstairs. She runs to the front door, but it's locked from the outside. Barb locked the door. Barb is upstairs.
She wrenches at the door.
“Nancy?” Barb's voice come from upstairs.
Footsteps in hall. Barb is coming. Barb is angry.
Nancy wakes up sobbing. Despite the fact it's 2AM, she calls the Byers.
“Hi...Mrs. Byers? It's Nancy. I'm sorry. I know it's late. I had a really bad dream. Could I talk to Jonathan?”
Joyce is a saint. A few moments later, her beloved's voice comes on the line. They talk in whispers for a long time.
***
She's baffled to see Steve spend so much time with Dustin and Mike and their friends.
He's changed. They've all changed.
***
Jonathan has a book. His mother's copy of The Joy Of Sex. They read it together. They find it useful.
***
Eleven is still out at Hopper's cabin. After the Snow Ball, the chief goes back to not letting her leave. Mike is pissed, but everybody understands why it has to be that way.
Nancy listens to her brother's complaints, and notes that, angry as he is, they lack the despair of his radio calls the previous year. This is better. She urges him to just wait a little longer.
***
Oh god, Steve caught her and Jonathan raiding the refrigerator after dark at the Byers. He was leading Will in or something, and surprised them. In their underwear.
Well, he certainly knows what's up now.
***
Barb is dead. Sometimes, when she's happiest, Nancy remembers that. Then she cries, because Barb can never know this. Jonathan comforts her.
***
The people of Hawkins have eyes. They know something happened these past two Novembers. A thousand stories whip around: about Barb, about the deaths, about the Lab, about her. Nancy even hears someone ranting about a mutant psychic child who escaped from that government place, destroying everyone in her path on the way out. She's surprised at how accurate the ignorant can be.
Among the debated issues, she knows, is why she is no longer with Steve Harrington. She ignores them until...
One lunchtime, she is informed of the latest theory. If anyone designed something specifically to hurt her, they couldn't do a better job. The vilest possible rendition of events.
The next period is Biology. For some random reason, Mr. Rogers is called to the office, leaving them bereft of adult supervision. Nancy feels herself rising, walking behind the desk, taking up the lecturing position. Everyone looks baffled.
“Listen up.”
She can't believe she's doing this. She's surprised she hasn't caught on fire. She speaks through gritted teeth.
“I want to address certain rumors that are going around. Specifically: the story that I broke up with Steve Harrington because I discovered he fucked Barb Holland before she died. This is a lie. Barb didn't have any interest in Steve, none whatsoever. Steve would never do something like that. There is no truth to this at all, and anyone who says so is a damn vulture.”
She slams her palm on the desk, echoing through the room. Everyone jumps a bit.
“If you hear anyone saying this, send them my way. I will set them straight. I will...I will rip the living shit out of them.”
There's an absolute silence in the room. Shannon Glutz actually raises her hand.
“Um, Shannon, do you have a question?”
“Yeah,” Shannon says in her Indiana Valley Girl voice. “Is it true you're going out with Jonathan Byers in secret?”
Nancy doesn't give a shit anymore. She won't deny him.
“Yes.”
At that moment, Mr. Rogers returns. “Miss Wheeler, could I have my class back?” he says with a grin. Then it's right back to the nitrogen cycle, as if nothing had happened.
Five minutes after she gets home, the phone rings.
“Hey!” Jonathan says. “Um...I was getting a lot of weird looks this afternoon...and two guys high-fived me.”
“Yeah...some stuff happened.”
She explains. He laughs.
“Helluva way to burst our cover.”
“I couldn't be silent anymore.”
“I understand.”
Now they don't have to hide. They eat lunch together, hold hands in the hall. How Steve feels about this, she doesn't know.
***
By Valentine's Day 1985, R.E.M. is Nancy's favorite band ever, a band she barely knew existed six months before. Jonathan commissions Will to write out in calligraphy the lyrics to “Perfect Circle” on tissue paper, which he pastes over a copy of the back album sleeve of Murmur cut into the shape of a heart. It's the best Valentine she's ever received. It's the best Valentine she could ever imagine.
They play Murmur and Reckoning and dance until they're exhausted. Everything she's been through in her life seems to make a modicum of sense when the boys from Athens play.
Pull your dress on and stay real close
Who might leave you where I left off?
A perfect circle of acquaintances and friends
Drink another, coin a phrase...
***
The guidance counselor at school alerts to her the fact that the Hawkins Post has two summer internships for Hawkins High students. He urges her to apply. She urges Jonathan to apply.
Wouldn't it be cool, if they could be journalistic superstars together?
***
Hopper gave permission to Mike and El to communicate by radio, as long as they use Morse code.
Now the incessant beeping from downstairs is driving everyone in the Wheeler house crazy. It's like living with a swarm of mutant insects. Mike's happy, though.
***
In March of 1985, Nancy Wheeler's boyfriend discovers Albert Camus.
The Stranger was on the spinner rack in the library. She's seen it for years. All she knew about the man what Mr. Denesha had said in French class: you pronounce the name to rhyme with 'who,' not 'bus.'
Jonathan picked it up. For weeks she doesn't hear about anything else. He goes to the town library to take out everything by Camus available, then uses Interlibrary Loan to get more. He reads The Plague and he won't shut up about it, how it's a metaphor for what they've been through with the Upside Down.
Jonathan's moving on to Jean-Paul Sartre when Nancy informs him in no uncertain terms that she would sometimes like to have a conversation not revolving around mid-century dead Frenchmen. His existentialist phase dwindles after that.
***
It's a chance meeting in the Sinclairs' driveway. She's dropping off Mike, who's spending the night. Steves's dropping off Dustin. She's about to leave when Steve says “Got a second?”
She pauses, walks to a point about six feet in front of him. “Sure.”
“Uh—uh--I just wanted to say that it's really good to see you and Jonathan together. I'm glad to see you happy. And—uh-um--uh—I'm sorry for being such a shitty boyfriend.”
She rushes at him, grabs the lapels of his jean jacket with both hands.
“You were not a shitty boyfriend.”
The words she's rehearsed in her head so many times.
“You did some shitty things. I did some shitty things. But you're not a bad person. You fought beside us, shoulder to shoulder. You were brave.”
He's staring at her goggle-eyed like a turkey. The words keep coming.
“None of this was supposed to happen. Nobody expected it. Jonathan and I went into the fire together, and when we came out, we were hand in hand. But that's not because of anything you did. It just happened. Like Barb. Like Bob Newby. Like everything else. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't my fault. It just happened.”
“Yeah,” he says.
She reaches up and, with her thumb, wipes away a tear from his cheek. Then she turns and walks back to the station wagon.
Behind her, she hears one last question.
“Nance...have you had any nightmares?”
She freezes, turns back, and says “Not when Jonathan is next to me.”
She backs the station wagon into the road and leaves him there. As she drives away, she thinks So that's what I feel.
***
Fables Of The Reconstruction, the new R.E.M. album, comes out June tenth. She and Jonathan each buy a copy. They drive back to his house and listen to it over and over and over again. “Life And How To Live It” is her favorite.
My pockets are out and running about
Barking in the street to tell what I have hidden there...
I will write a book, it will be called
"Life and How to Live It"
***
Joyce Byers throws a last-day-of-school dinner party. All of Mike's friends are there, Steve is there. The whole pack of them. No one at Hawkins High could imagine this. Then—wonder of wonders!-Hopper shows up, with Eleven. There's a huge shout. Everyone is laughing, and happy.
She looks around the room and thinks A perfect circle of acquaintances and friends... She starts to tear up. Both Jonathan and Mike ask why and she can't find the words.
***
It's been eight months, and no sign of anyone looking for Eleven. Hopper tells Mike he can come to the cabin sometimes if he's careful. Nancy suspects Hopper does not know what he's in for.
***
Nancy and Jonathan both get the Post internships. Working side by side. The heroic reporters.
This is going to be the best summer ever.
Nancy can't wait.