Chapter Text
"—Proving its existence using only one sense
It lingers,
Clings to me, like a lover holding on even after their last breath
Maybe I'm exaggerating the blunt
The process it takes to gain the skill,
Like an oyster, I, too, have to perfect the pearl—"
The first time Jonathan Byers came into contact with weed was after his only friend, Manny, had turned 17. Before the world had split in two, before his brother was taken and changed forever. Back when the only thing they had to worry about was school. A time when the heaviest thing weighing on Jonathan's shoulders was the expectations of his family, with his mom's sacrifices and his dad's distance disapproval. When his only friend was a town-wide freak—used only in an explanatory way—all love to Manny, and his biggest concern was getting a girl to look his way.
Said friend had gotten his hands on an 8th and the other items needed for smoking.
"Please, Jonny," Manny had coaxed with a grin, "you're the only one I'd trust to green out in front of." Despite his reluctance, Jonathan agreed, and that's how he found himself at the lake with Manny and one of his friends.
"Jonathan, Robin. Robin, Jonathan," Manny introduced as they found some semi-big rocks to sit on. They were in a small clearing by the lake, the late afternoon sun fluttering through the leaves, casting shadows around them.
"Sup," Robin said with a smile.
"Hey,," Jonathan waved nervously.
"So, are you going to lose your sober virginity with us?" Robin asked as Manny took the necessary steps to end up with a joint. His hands were steady, a stark contrast to Jonathan's, which quivered slightly, hinting at the anxiety of being around drugs for the first time. At the same time, there was a part of him that was curious, inclined to feel the freedom he thought Manny seemed to embody.
"Oh, so I have to babysit her too?" Jonathan joked, causing Manny to chuckle, "If anything, we're watching her," He said.
"This is your first time getting high, too," Robin commented with a cross of her arms and an eyebrow raise.
"I mean, technically, I've gotten second-hand high plenty of times, my dad's a smoker too," The girl shrugged before finishing the joint. It wasn't the best, as it was his first time, but as Manny had learned from his father, it just needed to get the job done.
Robin filled the air with her chatter as she and Manny sparked up. Jonathan took one single hit and as the smoke twirled around them, he felt a warmth spreading from his fingertips.
He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was a little scared of smoking. Seeing Robin and Manny high off their asses and trying to get philosophical about music definitely eased that fear, though. That warmth seemed to mingle with a sense of inexplicable relief.
As their laughter followed the smoke he felt a sense of belonging. Almost like their high had reached out and affected him, too. He was pulled into the conversation when Robin asked about his music taste, making him realize how infectious Robin really was, too.
Unlike Manny, Jonathan hadn't touched pot after that; he did, however, gain a new friend in Robin, who was in more of his classes than he realized.
The first time Jonathan actually smoked was in California. He found a friend in Argyle whose weed-smelling van constantly reminded him of Manny and Robin and their days by the lake. He was sitting in the back of the van with Argyle, who was packing his pipe. He was stuck in Lenora with one kind-of-friend. He liked Argyle, but there was a bridge between them. Literally, considering the Upside-Down was a bridge, according to Will's teacher, anyway.
The moment the earthy smell of dry weed enveloped him, he couldn't help but recall the fish smell of the lake and the sharp cry of birds interweaving with Manny and Robin's high-pitched laughter. The vibrant greens and light skies of Hawkins seemed a world away from the confines of the van, cluttered with crap, and dimly lit by the streetlight fluttering through tinted windows.
Bless Argyle, who lit the first bowl, and as the pungent aroma of cannabis filled the small space of the van, he took a deep inhale. It's curling wisps of smoke reaching out, pulling him away from the solitude that plagued him.
Argyle settled somewhere on the Milky Way, Jonathan was sure of it. The long-haired boy lay on his back, rambling about space before he went quiet. That was Jonathan's favorite part of the high, the silent part, where he could do whatever he wanted. Namely, listening to music or staring at pictures you took of your girlfriend.
He didn't remember why, but he brought his other camera with him and found himself going through his photo gallery. He had gotten to the part where Nancy wanted a photoshoot, and it was just picture after picture to miss her with. Miss her so much it made his heart hurt.
It weirdly felt like he was 16 again, when he had one friend and his father was the only thing that plagued him when he slept. More than anything, he couldn't ignore the slight guilt he felt every time he looked at will. Felt guilty for being glad about how his life changed because what happened.
He was utterly alone in Lenora.