Jonathan drove until it was too dark to see the road and he was too tired to keep his eyes open. Kendall offered to switch spots with him so she'd drive and he could get some sleep but when they passed a small hotel, Jonathan pulled into the parking lot, ignoring Kendall's suggestion.

The two teens slowly walked into the empty lobby. Kendall scanned the room for anything that would make her want to leave; roaches, a stench... blood stains.

Luckily, Kendall didn't see anything out of the ordinary as she and Jonathan got the the front desk where a woman sat, reading a magazine as she obnoxiously chewed on her gum.

Jonathan cleared his throat, but the woman didn't even budge. He turned to Kendall and gave her a side eye, silently asking her what to do. Kendall rolled her eyes, leaning against the counter,  "We'd like a room."

"We got those." The woman said, flipping a page. She blew a bubble before looking up at Jonathan and Kendall, eyeing the two with a smirk. "You want a single or a double?"

"Double."

Kendall anxiously tapped the counter, not making any eye contact with Jonathan. The lady behind the desk slurped her ICEE, eyeing the two back and forth at how quick both of them responded.

She looked at her computer and huffed out a laugh. She turned to the two with an amused look. "It's a shame all we have left is a single. You two still want it?" 

"Yep." Kendall said, knowing there was no where left for them go. She could feel Jonathan look at her, but she kept her eyes on the woman on the other side of the desk. The woman raised her brows in amusement, taking another big slurp of her ICEE as she handed Kendall the two keys to the hotel room.

...

Kendall laid on the right side of the bed while Jonathan laid on the left side, the bright lamp on his side resting on a nightstand. Jonathan sighed from how tired he was. He shifted to get more comfortable as he craned his head towards the bright light beside.

"Kenny? Do you want the lights on or off?"

Jonathan's voice was pretty quiet. When Kendall didn't answer, he turned to her and noticed the nervous look on her face. As if she were stuck in a nightmare.

Jonathan scooted closer to Kendall, his brows creasing at her. "What's wrong?"

Kendall gulped, shaking her head to get out of her own head. She turned to the boy  and gave him a tight lipped smile. "Nothing. Just... I think seeing where the demogorgon came from... I guess it just brought back a lot."

Jonathan frowned at Kendall's words. He knew how she felt, seeing where it all started. He rose his hand and combed a fallen piece of her hair behind her ear, his eyes landing on the scar on his palm from the year prior in the process.

A small smile etched its way onto the Byers boys face as he scooted closer to Kendall, their shoulders and thighs touching as he stuck his hand up in the air above them so she could see it.

"Still have yours?" Jonathan asked, a big smirk plastered on his face.

Kendall looked at Jonathan's hand and immediately snickered. She shifted her own beside Jonathans. "Yep."

Kendall moved their hands around so when they pressed the sides of their hands together, the lines of the scars turn into one long line connecting from one's hand to the other. Kendall playfully squinted at tilted her head as she looked at the hands before turning her head to Jonathan.

"Mine's bigger." Kendall whispered, a smirk growing on her face.

Jonathan snorted, not thinking as he grabbed her scarred hand with his, interlacing his fingers. He turned to Kendall, watching as her smirk turned into a nervous smile. "Congratulations." He muttered which Kendall smiled back at, letting their hands fall into the small space left in between them. "Thanks."

Jonathan nodded, trying his hardest to not look down at Kendall's lips, even when he saw Kendall's eyes flicker down to his. Jonathan held himself back, taking a deep breath. "So..." He started, clearing his throat. "Do you want the lights on or off?"

Kendall slumped slightly. She blinked a couple times before she rolled over in the bed so her back was to the boy. "Off." She muttered and Jonathan frowned. He turned around and turned off the light before he turned back around to face Kendall's back.

The voice in his head that was once telling him not to kiss her was now scolding him for not doing it. 

...

Kendall watched as Jonathan pull into the driveway of the place Nancy claimed the detective lived. Both teens brows furrowed at the place. Jonathan turned to Kendall as she looked down at the business card Nancy gave her.

"Are you positive this is the right place?" Jonathan asked.

Kendall looked up from the card to read the address on the building. When the numbers on the building matched the card, she nodded. "3833. Yeah."

"All right." Jonathan muttered out. The two of them unbuckled their seatbelts and got out of the car. Kendall eyed the big metal door as they walked towards it, an intercom hoisted right next to it.

Jonathan turned to Kendall who was already looking at him. They kept their eye contact for a few seconds before she leaned over Jonathan, pressing the intercom button.

"Look at the camera."

"The camera? What camera?" Jonathan muttered, bringing his furrowed face right up to the intercom.

"Not the loudspeaker. Above you, to the right."

Kendall and Jonathan follow the voices instructions, finding a camera just above the door. Kendall nodded her head at the camera. She turned to Jonathan and whacked his arm.

"Dumbass." She muttered.

Jonathan turned to Kendall with a bitter look, eyeing her up and down. "Oh, shut up. You didn't find the camera at first either."

Before Kendall could reply, the door swung up and a balding man wearing disheveled clothes now stood across from them.

"Kendall Rogers. Jonathan Byers. You two are a long way from home." The man, who Kendall assumed was Murray said. Murray turned on his heels and started to walk into his home, expecting the two teens to follow after him

"Well... I hope you didn't come all this way to tell me about the bear in the Harrington kid's backyard. I've heard that one already." Murray's voice echoed from in front of Jonathan and Kendall as they walked further and further into the man's home.

Kendall was eyeing little things about the home before her eyes fell on a board that reminded Kendall of detective films. Push pins, red string, and photos involving Barb, Will and everyone else involved scattered across the board.

Kendall's jaw slacked, standing frozen in place. Jonathan turned to Kendall and when he noticed her look, he turned to see what had caught her attention.

Murray chuckled at the two teens, waving them off and gesturing to his board. "I followed up on 200 tips, most bogus, but that's how these things always go, okay? I know every last step Barbara took that day, every last person she talked to. The answer to what happened to your friend, it's up here somewhere. I assure you that. I just gotta connect the right dots."

Kendall read over all of the little notecards that hung up on the board. She pressed her lips into a line and shook her head ever so slightly. "Timeline's wrong."

Murrays head snapped to Kendall, his eyes widening in panic and confusion. "I'm sorry?"

Kendall turned to Murray this time. "Your timeline is wrong." She said before she turned back to the board. Her eyes fell straight into a photo of El and Kendall snickered. "And the girl with the buzzed hair, she's not Russian. She's from Hawkins Lab. Her name was Eleven."

Murray looked at Kendall like he had just seen a ghost. Jonathan sighed from braided her. Nodding his head at Murray's sofa, gesturing for the man to take a seat. "You might wanna sit down for this."

...

Kendall, Jonathan and Murray all sat in Murray's living room as they listened to Dr. Owens on the tape Kendall had used at the lab.

"What if they try to replicate that? The more attention we bring to ourselves, the more people like the Hollands who know the truth, the more likely that scenario becomes. You see why I have to stop the truth from spreading, too. Just the same as those weeds there. By whatever means necessary."

The tape recorded clicked as it ended. Kendall watched as Murray leaned back into his chair, scratching his chin.

"So, is it enough?" She asked but Murray ignored her, staring at the ground.

Kendall turned to Jonathan. When they locked eyes, the boy just shrugged. Kendall turned back to Murray, her eyebrows furrowing. "The tape recording, is it enough? Is it incriminating?"

Instead of answering, Murray pushed himself out of his chair and walked towards the kitchen.

"Where the hell is he going?" Kendall muttered, shooting off the couch and following after the man. As she walked into the kitchen, she watched as Murray poured himself a small glass of vodka.

She felt Jonathan walk up beside her as she scoffed. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking." Murray said. "With vodka?" Kendall asked, a fake amused tone emitting in her voice. Murray nodded, once there was a decent amount of vodka in the glass, he offered it to the teens, both of them shaking their heads.

Kendall scoffed, turning away from the man. "Great. Great." She muttered before looking to Jonathan. "Why the hell did we think he was a good idea?"

"It's a central nervous system depressant. So yes, with vodka." Murray said, still never looking up at Kendall. He turned towards the island and turned up the volume on his radio.

"Oh my God..." Kendall muttered. She brought her hand up and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Yes. It helps me..." Murray said and Jonathan raised his brows in an annoyed astonishment. "What? Think?"

"Is the tape incriminating or not? It's a simple question." Kendall asked and Murray chuckled, setting the glass on the table. "There's nothing simple about it. Nothing simple about anything you've told me."

Kendall nodded her head, anger starting to fill her up as she watched the man. "You don't believe us, do you?" She asked and Murray groaned, downing the drink. "I believe you, but that's not the problem. You don't need me to believe you. You need them to believe you." Murray said, filling the glass again.

"Them?" Jonathan asked and Murray nodded. "Them. With a capital "T." Your priest, your postman, your teacher, the world at large." Murray said, putting down the glass of vodka, throwing his hands in the air.

Kendall shook her head, turning around to Murrays crime board. "They won't believe any of this. That's why we made the tape." Kendall explained and Murray groaned, holding back an eyeroll at the girls words. "Oh. That's easy to bury. Easy!"

"He admits it!" Kendall shouted and Murray slammed his hands down on his kitchen island, making Kendall and Jonathan flinch. "Those people... They're not wired like us, okay? They don't spend their lives trying to get a look at what's behind the curtain!" Murray snapped before he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again tilted his head, trying to be calmer.

"They like the curtain. It provides them stability, comfort, definition. This... this would open the curtain, and open the curtain behind that curtain, okay? So the minute someone with an ounce of authority calls bullshit, everyone will nod their heads and say, 'See? Ha! I knew it! It was bullshit.' That is, if you even get their attention at all."

"You're saying we did all of this shit for nothing?" She asked quietly. Did everything she and Jonathan just work on accomplish anything?

"I'm saying, I'm thinking." Murray sighed at the girl, taking his other shot. His face scrunched at the alcohol. He visibly gulped before he started to cough.

"This is ridiculous." Jonathan muttered, going to walk away. Kendall watched the boy pace the living room when Murray gasped.

"That's it. That's it!" Murray whispered. Kendall turned back around to Murray, furrowing hr brows as she watched Murray grab a bottle of water.

"What's it?" Kendall asked as Murray poured some water into his glass. "It's just too strong. Too strong." Murray muttered, now grabbing his bottle of vodka, pouring it into the glass with the water.

He brought the watered down drink to his lips and took a sip. He smiled at the drink, looking down at the glass with a proud look. "Better."

It was like a lightbulb went off in Kendall's head as she watched Murray. She walked towards him at the island and smiled. "We water it down." She said and Murray smirked, glad she had thought what he thought. He lifted the bottle of vodka and pointed it at her.

"Precisely." He laughed out as Jonathan walked back to the island, confused on what Kendall and Murray were talking about. "Wait. What?"

"Your story. We moderate it." Murray explained, making his one glass of watered down vodka before going to his cupboard and grabbing two more glasses. "Just like this drink here. We make it more tolerable." He explained, filling the two glasses with his new creation.

"Perhaps Barbara was exposed to some dangerous toxins. A leak from the lab. Like Three Mile Island or something. Something scary but familiar. Close enough that it hits the man right where it hurts." Murray suggested and Kendall nodded her head, a determined look on her face. "And those assholes that killed Barb..."

"They'll go down." Murray continued, handing Jonathan and Kendall their glasses of the drink. The three of them raised their glasses to a toast before taking the drink.

—i know... its been a hot minute since i've updated this fic BUT THEY'RE BACK AND IVE MISSED THEM

how DARE jonathan not kiss kendall😒