Jonathan had offered to follow Nancy home, but she had refused, saying that he had already done enough. He hoped that she had meant that in a good way. After she had gone home, Jonathan's thoughts were churning with what had happened; he had already gone over the day in his mind twenty times by the time Joyce and Will came home. Despite everything, he found himself in a good mood, and Joyce could tell.

"What are you smiling at, honey?" Joyce asked him when they were cooking dinner together.

"Oh, nothing." Jonathan replied.

"Oh, don't be like that! Tell me."

"Mom, it's really nothing, I was just thinking of some joke Will told me"

"Alright" Joyce winked. That made Jonathan smile even more.

During dinner they talked about Will being back at school. Will loved science, it was his favorite subject in school. His teacher had promoted him to a higher class, along with his best buddies, Lucas, Dustin and Mike. Will was over the top with excitement.

"How was your day, Jonathan?" Joyce asked.

"Oh, it was ok. I did some English project over Edgar Allan Poe. It was quite interesting"

Jonathan was grabbed by the sudden fear that maybe his school would call Joyce and tell her that he had skipped some of his classes today. That wouldn't be good? What would he tell his mom? Maybe if he told her the truth, that he had stood up for Nancy and their bullies and spent some time with her at home, she wouldn't be angry. All that could way, he supposed. For now he was just happy because he had talked to Nancy.

At dinner, Nancy couldn't eat much. It seemed that her parents didn't notice, so that was good. She didn't want to tell them just yet that her and Steve had broken up. The weird thing was, she thought she would have been upset over the breakup, but she wasn't that upset. She was just thinking of Jonathan, of course. Her little brother, Mike, seemed to be in a gloomy mood though. He kept looking down at his plate. She felt sorry for him; she knew how hard it had been for him to loose his new friend, Eleven. She couldn't imagine losing Jonathan, even though he wasn't exactly hers.

Jonathan thought of a way to talk to Nancy again. He really wanted to see her, but he wasn't sure she would sit by him at school again. He went over his options. Joyce and Will had the Wheeler's phone number. What was the worst thing that could happen if he called her? She would hang up, possibly. So? It would hurt, but still he needed to know that she would talk to him again. Maybe it would be easier to talk to her over the phone. He felt very brave when he walked into the living room. Joyce was watching tv.

"Hi. What's up? Going somewhere?" Joyce said.

"No, I just need to use the phone" Jonathan replied.

"Oh, alright, go ahead"

"What's the Wheeler's number?"

Joyce told him the number, and Jonathan called.

"I'll just go to Will's room, see what he's doing" Joyce smiled. Jonathan was grateful for that.

"The Wheeler's, this is Karen"

"Hi mrs. Wheeler, it's Jonathan, Will's brother. I was just wondering, is Nancy there?"

"Nancy? Sure, she's in her room. I can call her, if you want."

"Please"

Mrs. Wheeler called her daughter. Jonathan's heart was pounding hard in his chest. He almost hung up out of sheer anxiety. He was afraid he forgot how to speak. Pull yourself together, he told himself. But with these things, that was so much easier said than done.

"Hi, it's Nancy" that was the sound of her lovely voice.

A long moment passed and finally Jonathan said: "Hi. It's Jonathan. I hope it's okay that I called you. My mother gave me your number, I hope you don't mind"

"No.. No, of course not. It's okay"

Another long moment passed. This was so awkward, Jonathan thought, but it was worth it, just hearing her voice.

"I was just wondering, if maybe you'd like to do something. I mean, together. Some day. I don't know.. I get it if you don't want to."

"Sure. That would be great. Do you want to go to the movies?"

Jonathan was stunned. Had Nancy just asked him out?

He almost couldn't answer, but at last he managed to say "Yes, I would love to. Thank you"

"Great. Er, are you doing anything tomorrow night?"

"No. I can pick you up at 8, would that be okay?"

"Sounds good! I'll see you. Goodnight, Jonathan. And er, I had a good time today, with you I mean"

"Me too. Goodnight, Nancy."

Jonathan hung up, his heart pounding even harder, if that was even possible. Joyce came into the living room.

"Who was that?" Joyce asked.

"Nancy"

"Oh, so you two are talking again?"

"Yeah.. We are. Well.. Actually, we're going to the movies tomorrow night." Jonathan said, trying to keep the utter excitement out of his voice, but failing terribly.

Joyce squeled and said" Oh my, honey! That's wonderful. I'm so happy for you. She's a good girl. She's good for you"

"Mom, I'm just taking her to the movies"

"I know. What are you wearing?"

"Mom!"

"Okay, okay, I'll stop."

Nancy couldn't sleep that night. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. Had Jonathan just asked her out? She couldn't believe her luck. That he still wanted to hang out with her, after all that had happened, was a miracle. She lay in her bed, tossing and turning, thinking of him. What was she going to wear? She had to admit, Nancy Wheeler, the popular girl, had fallen hard for the outcast, Jonathan Byers. And for that, she had no regrets whatsoever. She was as happy as can be.