CHAPTER TWO
AWKWARD RUN-INS

Two days later, and Kimmy was slumped into a chair in her math class first thing in the morning half asleep, her face resting contently in her palm as she did her very best to send across the false narrative to her teacher that she was in fact listening to any of the bullshit that spewed past her lips.

Truth be told, Kimmy was doing anything but, instead all her attention and efforts were focused on her managing to keep her eyes open - which was not an easy challenge. To say that the girl hadn't received a good sleep the night prior would be putting it lightly. Though, it wasn't a rare occurrence, she failed to recall the last time she had managed a full night of sleep.

Some would say dreams are scapegoats. Used when one wants so desperately to escape the stress filled issues thrown their way while awake. A place that is safe, a fantasy land which possesses the purpose of simply comforting and consoling its creator. Sleep is peaceful, the only time of day when one can truly be alone with their thoughts as a warm, calming feeling flows throughout their body and sends them down a river of a much needed, tranquil sleep.

Unfortunately the same could not be said for Kimberley Jenkins.

Kimmy dreaded nightfall, dreaded the feeling of eeriness that would engulf and blur her mind as she allowed sleep to take her, though not down a calm, quiet river. No, it seemed whenever the girl would close her eyes, her safety boat would drift left while the others went right. And she'd be forced to face a series of incidents that sent shivers down her spine and caused an ache to deepen in her chest.

So, in order to prevent that awful feeling, she wouldn't sleep at all. Well, not until it finally caught up to her - and it did. Each and every night the dark haired girl would lose the battle. Sleep would sneak up in many ways, ensuring the girl was unprepared from which direction it would stem from and break down her walls of tiredness. Clouding her thoughts with visions and terrors that Kimmy would wish never to see again as it pushed itself into the depths of her mind.

The night before, she estimated she had managed a total of maybe two hours sleep - neither of the two leaving any trace of comfort for the girl. Which was why she found herself in the situation of forcing her eyes open that very evening. In all fairness, the day had passed fairly quickly, though Kimmy suspected it was because she had only been semi-conscious for the majority.

No, Kimmy hadn't attempted anything drastic as she had the two nights previous, no matter how much she had wanted to. She was too scared of getting caught again. It was embarrassing, no matter how the blond boy viewed it, that may have been the most embarrassing thing to have ever happened to the girl.

Kimberley Jenkins - always alone, tucked away under deep covers of isolation - getting caught in a moment of deep vulnerability courtesy of a boy whom she hadn't as much as glanced at before?

It embarrassed her.

Which was why she hadn't seen him since - she was avoiding him.

Just as Kimmy's eyelids became too heavy for her to keep them open any longer, the girl flinched, her eyes snapping open as she sat up straight in her seat. Truth be told, it did take a moment for the cloud of grogginess to clear from her mind. It had been a voice that had broken her from her much needed trance of sleep, she just didn't know whose.

Though the question didn't go unanswered for very long, as one glance up to her right confirmed it all. Kimmy scrunched her nose up in confusion at the sight, utter perplexity taking over her as she fought through her memories for an explanation as to who the older woman stood at the entrance of the class, dressed in blue head to toe was.

And nothing. She hadn't the faintest idea. The older woman must have been a new addition to the staff. That, or Kimmy payed a lot less attention than she had originally thought.

An awkward silence took over the room for a moment, as each student occupying a seat watched the woman practically trip over her own two feet as she rushed up to the middle school math teacher, the two whispering incoherently between them furiously.

Kimmy shifted her head for a short moment, catching small glimpses of her peers who wore matching expressions.

Matching expressions of boredom with hints of slight scepticism.

Several seconds later and Kimmy's math teacher as well as the woman who Kimmy was sure taught the year above rushed out of the room. Most likely off to deal with trouble stirring in an opposite side of the school building.

This wasn't exactly an unusual occurance, teachers always rushing about to stop the typical trouble teens seemed addicted to causing.

Instead of continuing on with her work - which she hadn't exactly been doing anyway, Kimmy decided that listening in to the conversation that the girls behind her had been having served for much more entertainment.

However, Kimmy soon realised that the girls didn't know eachother - or at least not that well, seeing as they were forcing small talk.

"So, math your favourite class?" One asked the other boredly, causing Kimmy to roll her eyes and revert back to zoning out.

Kimmy was almost positive the girls choice of words was either due to her lack of social cues or downright sarcasm, as she was sure - like her - many of her peers weren't exactly thrilled to have to return to their math classwork each week.

Kimmy wasn't given much time to zone out though, because moments later the seat next to her was pulled along the floor, causing a slight screechy noise to reach her ears.

This puzzled the young girl for a brief moment, presumably due to her sleepy state, however she quickly realised that it was because a body had filled the empty seat next to her.

Much to her horror, with one quick glance, Kimmy recognised the boy immediately. The exact same boy she had been avoiding for the past two days.

Aaron Harrington.

Kimmy couldn't help but notice how he looked different, unlike their first meeting, he had no look of panic crossing his features - no look of sympathy in his eyes.

Instead he wore a smile - a nervous one at that.

A slight dimple poking through as he fiddled with his black digital watch - Kimmy suspected he hadn't even noticed because his dark green eyes never left her deep navy colored ones.

He had no hat on unlike before also, allowing his sandy blond hair to really be seen by the girl. Not just the parts which lay on his forehead. This lead Kimmy to believe that his hair was usually a slight mess, and that it hadn't actually been the doing of the wind.

Kimmy did nothing but stare at him for a moment, a look of perplexity playing on her youthful features. Almost matching the look of anxiety and nerves on his youthful features.

"Uh," Kimmy began, unsure of what the boy was doing, or why he had decided to move to sit with her halfway through the lesson. "Did you need something?"

She watched carefully as his cheeks turned a deep shade of pink out of embarrassment, nodding his head furiously as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yeah- uh, sorry about that," he muttered almost instantly.

Still, his gaze never leaving her - Kimmy decided she didn't like that.

"I just- I meant to talk to you earlier but-" Aaron cut himself off, shaking his head as he realised he had gotten off track. Next time he spoke up, he spoke in a hushed whisper. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You know, after the other day."

Kimmy felt her face practically set on fire from embarrassment, her eyes growing wide as she sat straighter.

"I'm fine." Kimmy insisted, voice much harsher than intended. This caused her to double take, clearing her throat before continuing in a much softer voice, hoping to put the boy at ease in fear he had gotten the wrong idea. "Thank you, though."

Aaron didn't look convinced.

He didn't move from his seat next to her either. Instead he kept his eyes firmly on her and tried a new approach.

"I've seen you around, you know," Aaron admitted warily, as if it had been some huge secret. "You're mostly yourself."

Well, that was putting it lightly. She was always by herself.

"You could sit with me if you don't already have people to sit with - at lunch and stuff." He added carefully, as if preparing himself for rejection.

This admittedly puzzled Kimmy. It wasn't like he was ugly on any sorts, in fact quite the opposite. But as he had put it, she had also seen him around the past two days while avoiding him all at the same time. And she had gathered that unlike her, he was never alone, however it was always the same three boys he was with - and they never seemed to talk to anyone out of their little group.

Leading Kimmy to believe that this may be the first time the twelve year old boy had ever gone out of his way to invite someone into their circle - even if it wasn't to be taken in as serious of a context as the blond probably viewed it.

Aaron looked as nervous as Kimmy felt - though Kimmy's was more due to pure embarrassment, whereas he seemed to have been absolutely terrified of coming up and talking to her. Fearful of her reaction.

"Oh, but the party will be there." He continued before Kimmy could answer with a shake of his head. "I'm sure they'd be fine with it - but it is against rule number-" 

"The party?" She asked quizzically, no malicious intent behind her words, just utter confusion.

"Yeah, my friends," he answered as if it were obvious. "Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, Mike Wheeler, Will Byers." Kimmy had to refrain the shock from showing on her face - Will Byers. Aaron was best friends with the kid who went missing. "And me, obviously. The party - that's just what we call ourselves."

Kimmy nodded and decided against pushing on the matter too much, simply going along with what he had said.

She was still stuck on the fact his friend had gone missing, a large surge of sympathy washing over her. Though she tried not to show it on her face, seeing how much she hated the look of pity coming her way from others.

However, because Kimmy was a typical over thinker no matter the situation, she suddenly felt panicked. Realising it had spread around the small town like wildfire that the twelve year old boy had been missing since late Sunday evening.

Two days ago - the same time and day the two had run into eachother.

She couldn't help but wonder if Aaron had seen him that day. Suddenly all too curious about what he had been doing out in the rain that night - however she never voiced this. It was absolutely none of her business what he was doing.

"Kimberley?" Aaron questioned then, his brows knitted together, bringing Kimmy from her slight daze.

"Sorry?" She mumbled only just then realising she had been staring into space. Aaron's face abruptly morphed back into his nervous smile.

"Uh- I was wondering if you wanted to sit with me at lunch?" He repeated once more, only sounding more hesitant and wary then before. "So you're not yourself."

Kimmy wanted to turn him down, not wanting to deal with his other friends that she didn't know. Especially after learning their friend was missing and most likely dead, she felt it was anything but fair to push herself into the small friend group.

Not wanting to send the false narrative that she wanted to replace Will or somewhat.

"I don't-"

"I'm sure the others wouldn't mind," he insisted, briefly taking a pause from fiddling with the digital watch on his wrist to check the green numbers flashing up at him. "Lunch is in an hour, I could meet you somewhere so you know where we are."

Despite not wishing to admit it, a part of Kimmy felt touched that he wanted to put her at ease after what he had witnessed - that he wanted to be her friend.

Which was exactly why instead of shooting him a glare and snapping at him to leave her alone, she nodded softly and agreed. Hoping to put his mind at ease as he had obviously been worried about her since their unfortunate meeting.

...

Aaron had never set a place to meet Kimmy after their brief conversation, so Kimmy wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do.

She had gotten her usual sandwich and had hung around the cafeteria for a good ten minutes before shaking her head slightly and leaving, not wanting to stand around looking like a complete loser any longer than she had to.

Instead, she had settled on her usual spot at the back of the school building that no one ever hung around near - on the small trail of steps near the large trash cans.

Pathetic? Yes. But it beat sitting in the cafeteria alone while some of the more popular crowd made cruel remarks while passing.

Pulling her coat closer around her body, she took a bite of her sandwich. However, only three bites in and she was forced to halt as a shadow appeared in front of her, clutching his own brown paper bag. Obviously preferring a homemade lunch.

"Hi, Kimberley," came the soft tired voice of Aaron Harrington as he took a seat next to her on the steps, much to her surprise. "Have you been here the entire lunch? I was looking for you."

He had gone looking for her?

Kimmy was much more surprised than she was willing to show, her cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink as she came to the delayed realisation that she had made a friend. Though, this was before she thought it over - ultimately deciding to wait to see how it played out with the boy not wanting to jinx herself.

"Yeah, sorry," she whispered, the wind taking her voice along with it. "I was at the cafeteria, but I couldn't find you-"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Aaron surprised her by saying, but before Kimmy could reply rambles we're falling past his lips at an alarming rate. "I had to find the party to let them know that you would be sitting with us and to see if they'd be cool with it and next thing I know, it's been fifteen minutes. I still haven't found them by the way, they'll probably think my brother picked me up early or something."

Kimmy simply nodded, watching as Aaron shrugged and opened the paper bag which had remained clutched in his hold.

The awkward silence returned just as the two turned to their food, Kimmy supposed Aaron noticed this because he had that nervous look back on his face and before Kimmy could as blink, he was rambling again.

"Don't you bring your own lunch?" Aaron asked with a halfhearted look of puzzlement on his face, before continuing all in the same breath. "I have to bring my own. I don't understand how people eat food from the cafeteria - I mean I've tried telling the rest of the party to bring their own lunches - but they never listen to me! I mean, god knows who has been touching the food they're putting into their mouths."

Kimmy looked at him utterly perplexed, suddenly not wishing to finish her sandwich from the school cafeteria.

Again, Aaron didn't notice - his eyes trained on his homemade sandwich as he nervously fiddled with the fingers on his free hand - which Kimmy guessed was out of habit.

"Maybe that's just me though," he mumbled, now sounding unsure of himself. "Everyone's always telling me how much of a 'germaphobe' I apparently am, which is ridiculous. I don't want to eat something someone else has touched - what if I get sick? Or even die?"

Kimmy looked to him doubtfully. "I don't think you'll die from eating food from the cafeteria." She assured, daring to take a bite of her own food.

Aaron looked up at her then, eyes flooded with uncertainty. He shook his head, dismissing the idea as he too took another bite of his sandwich.

"Well I'm not taking the risk, I wouldn't be surprised if the people making the food in this school don't even wash their hands before." He very nearly shuddered at the thought, Kimmy decided then that she agreed with his friends - definitely a germaphobe. "It pisses Steve off, I don't know why though, it's not like he has to make my food for me. I'd rather do it myself - Steve is my brother by the way."

She didn't know why he felt the need to clarify, everyone knew who Steve Harrington was. What Kimmy found strange was how different Aaron appeared to be compared to his brother. Everyone knew Steve as popular, went to parties, didn't really care about his studies. And after actually talking with the boy, Aaron appeared to be the complete opposite.

And he was.

Aaron wasn't very popular, sure, people knew his name and his brother, but they didn't actually know Aaron.

She supposed some siblings were just like that, you know, the type with nothing in common.

They didn't look alike either. Steve with his chestnut brown hair, which was actually a little long and slightly curled, as well as dark brown eyes. Steve seemed to care an awful lot about his appearance, his hair always slicked back and always looked put together.

Aaron had sandy blond hair - almost a dirty blond color. His hair wasn't as long as Steve's was and it never had any gel in it, any time Kimmy had seen Aaron, his hair was always a mess. Aaron also had dark green eyes in contrast to Steve's dark brown ones.

"Well," Kimmy begun hesitantly, unsure of what exactly she was supposed to say in response to that. "I think if it makes you feel better, then who cares if you're a germaphobe?"

"I'm not a germaphobe I just don't like-"

"-people touching your food." Kimmy finished for him with an unsure smile, which Aaron must have mistook because he nodded and sent her a smile on return.

Just as he went to say something else, the school bell rang - indicating the end of lunch. They both stood, from the steps, wishing eachother goodbye as they each took off in different directions before their next classes begun.

"See you around, Kimberley." Aaron waved as he began walking away, stuffing his paper bag in his backpack while he walked.

"Kimmy." She called out after him, causing his steps to halt as he turned around. "Most people call me Kimmy." 

Aaron nodded and sent her a smile before he continued walking to his next class, most likely not wishing to be late.

...

HELLO!!!! Sorry I've taken so long to update the second chapter but I've been so sick recently and then the entire story got deleted which was so annoying.

I still don't know exactly what happened with that, maybe I was hacked??? Idk I think it was most likely a glitch or something.

Anyways enjoy and I would recommend rereading chapters as I upload them because I've used this to my advantage ig and have changed the story quite drastically compared to before. 

I'll be uploading more often!!!

Please vote and comment!!!

-AJ :)