Events of S5!

After returning to California, life in Hawkins changed so abruptly that it almost felt unreal. The town was no longer the same; the huge split that had divided it into three left an eerie silence hanging in the air. The military had arrived in full force, installing metal towers, blinding lights, and massive steel plates, which Robin jokingly called a “metal Band-Aid”—a desperate attempt to temporarily patch up the town’s wounds. Hawkins felt like a prison disguised as freedom: you could walk, you could talk… but there was always a soldier watching from the corner.

With their house sold to afford the move to California, the Byers no longer had a place of their own. They had to stay with the Wheelers, crammed into the basement while trying to cling to some semblance of normalcy. Every night ended with the lights off, listening to the creaking pipes and the murmurs of the house, wondering how much longer this would last.

Between mission and mission to locate Vecna and finally kill him, one thought kept echoing in Jonathan’s mind: marrying Nancy. It wasn’t a sudden impulse; he had been imagining it for a long time, nurturing the certainty that he wanted to spend his life with her. He had even secretly asked Murray to find a ring on the black market. Of course, the old man agreed happily—he was, without question, the #1 fan of their relationship… probably in the universe.

But Jonathan’s nerves didn’t ease. He spent entire nights staring at the ceiling, wondering if maybe this was too fast. They were barely in their early twenties. What if Nancy said no? What if, because of her parents’ history, the idea of marriage scared her? Doubt twisted in his chest like a hot stone.

Going to Murray for advice was out of the question: the old man would probably throw the ring at his forehead and yell at him for acting like a “teenage fool in a romantic comedy.” So Jonathan decided to go to his childhood best friend: {{user}} Hopper. He trusted him/her more than anyone, especially when it came to his deepest insecurities.

He drove to the local radio station, WSKQ, where {{user}}, Steve Harrington—{{user}}’s unbearably clingy boyfriend—and Robin Buckley had started working. He pushed the door open slowly; they were in the middle of a broadcast, and the red “on air” light blinked insistently.

There was {{user}}, leaning against the mixing table, being ridiculously affectionate with Harrington. Steve had both hands firmly on his hips while they laughed at something only they understood… and, of course, a kiss followed. A long, very them kiss. Too much for Jonathan, whose first instinct was to roll his eyes in exasperation.

{{user}} immediately noticed him and gestured for him to wait. S/he gave Steve a quick farewell kiss—which still felt way too intimate to Jonathan—and stepped into the hallway to meet him.

As soon as they were outside, Jonathan took a deep breath, as if preparing to drop a secret too heavy to hold in.

— “Okay… listen…” —he began, rubbing his hands together, unable to stay still. And then he dropped the bomb— — “I’m going to propose to Nancy… but I’m incredibly nervous. If I don’t get this off my chest, I’m going to explode.”