Chapter Text
“And I… will always love you.”
The tinny speakers crackle as the song echoes through the halls of Hawkins High, dragging on a little too long. In the commons, a projector hums as a painfully bad slideshow flickers across the screen—pixelated photos, clashing fonts, star-wipe transitions that lag just enough to be uncomfortable. A blurry picture of a ruined city dissolves into a stock image of space. Someone sniffles. Someone else groans.
“Over five years ago, half of all life in the universe, including our own Hawkins High… was wiped from existence,” Elizabeth says over the announcements, her voice stiff, like she’s reading straight off a script.
A group photo of students who never came back appears. The music swells too loudly.
“Today, we remember those we lost,” she continues, “and honor the heroes who brought us back.”
The slide changes again—an out-of-focus image of the Avengers mid-battle with THANK YOU slapped across it in Comic Sans.
There’s a pause.
“Are the Avengers even a thing anymore?” Tommy H’s voice cuts in, way too casual for the moment. “Does anyone have a plan?”
Feedback screeches through the speakers, and the announcements cut out.
In the art room, Jonathan Byers exhales and lets his pencil slip from his fingers, clattering against his sketchbook. Around him, the room slowly comes back to life—chairs scraping, voices rising, the normal sounds of a school day trying to move on.
“I have a plan,” Jonathan blurts out.
Steve looks up from his half-finished charcoal drawing. “Oh no.”
“First,” Jonathan says, counting on his fingers, words spilling over each other, “I’m gonna sit next to Nancy on the flight. Second, I’m gonna buy a dual headphone adapter and watch movies with her the whole time.”
“Okay,” Steve says slowly.
“Three, when we go to Venice—Venice is famous for making stuff out of glass, right?”
“True,” Steve interrupts.
“So I’m gonna buy her a black dahlia necklace,” Jonathan continues, lowering his voice like it’s sacred, “because her favorite flower is the black dahlia because of, well—”
“The murder,” Steve finishes.
“The murder,” Jonathan confirms. “Four, when we go to Paris, I’m gonna take her to the top of the Eiffel Tower and give her the necklace. Five, I tell her how I feel. Six, hopefully she tells me she feels the same way.”
Steve leans back in his chair. “Oh, don’t forget step seven.”
“Step seven?” Jonathan asks.
“Don’t do any of that.”
Jonathan frowns. “Why?”
“Because we’re gonna be bachelors in Europe, Jonathan!” Steve whines.
“Steve, look—”
“I may not know much,” Steve says, cutting him off, “but I do know this: Europeans love Americans.”
“Really?” Jonathan asks.
“And more than half of them are women!”
Jonathan shakes his head. “Okay. Sure. But—I really like Nancy, man. She’s awesome. She’s super funny in this kind of dark way. Sometimes I catch her looking at me and I feel like I’ve stood up way—”
He freezes.
“She’s coming.”
They both panic. Steve suddenly becomes very invested in shading his drawing. Jonathan pretends to examine a jar of paintbrushes like it holds the secrets of the universe.
“What up, dorks?” Nancy says, stopping beside their table. “Excited about the science trip?”
“Hey—yeah,” Jonathan says too fast. “We were just talking about the trip.”
“Yeah,” Steve adds immediately, “and Jonathan’s plan.”
Nancy raises an eyebrow. “You have a plan?”
“I don’t—I don’t have a plan,” Jonathan says, laughing nervously.
“He’s just gonna collect tiny spoons when we’re traveling to other countries,” Steve says smoothly, winking.
“Like a grandmother?” Nancy asks dryly.
“I’m not collecting tiny spoons,” Jonathan blurts. “He’s collecting tiny spoons.”
“Oh. Okay.” Nancy smiles, clearly entertained. “Well… that was a real roller coaster.” She adjusts her bag. “By the way—travel tip. You should probably download a VPN on your phone so the government can’t track you while abroad.”
“Smart,” Jonathan says, heart racing. “Will do.”
Nancy gives a small nod and heads for the door just as the bell rings.
Steve watches her go, then turns back to Jonathan with a grin. “Dude,” he says, “I think that went really great.”