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musicalchaos07 · 1 year

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Jancy Academic Rivals AU thoughts

Based on this post. I have spent all day thinking about it and here's what I have so far

1996 Maine

Robin is Nancy’s roommate

Argyle is Jonathan’s roommate (I personally love the idea that Argyle is secretly rich)

Steve is also Jonathan & Argyle's roommate but he's never home so Jonathan goes like 3 weeks before ever seeing him in their dorm

Nancy’s best subjects are Chemistry, English, and Polisci-Debate

Jonathan’s best subjects are English, Polisci-Debate, Art, and Latin

Jonathan is from Hawkins and was friendish with Nancy but moved to Montauk, NY when he was like 7 so Nancy doesn’t remember him

He remembers her bc of course he does

Nancy is class president because she’s top of the class and is in charge of touring students around campus

Nancy begged her parents to send her here at the age of like 13 and she’s been there since

Jonathan is just now transferring in as a junior and a scholarship student

Jonathan applied because he wants to go to The National School of Photography in France or the Rhode Island School of Design

While touring Jonathan Nancy makes an off comment about how that’s essentially a waste of an education and how she went to Paris over the summer

Jonathan is understandably annoyed because his assumptions that everyone at the school is going to be nothing but spoiled, pompous rich kids are proving true

He’s also annoyed she does not remember him at all (but never brings up that they sort of know each other bc awkward)

So he asks in a snippy way what she plans to do and she tells him she's going to go to Oxford to study Journalism and he asks how that’s any better

They are very much giving pretentious and just another suburban girl in their initial introductions

Jonathan resolves to attempt to ignore her as much as possible which is very difficult because he has a crush (He may think she's ambitious and overly competitive but she's also gorgeous and wasn't mean about him being a scholarship student)

Anyways one night while looking for somewhere to smoke Jonathan & Argyle find Nancy, Robin, and Steve breaking into the school pool for a late-night swim/hang out (Picture s1 pool scene minus the murder and st*ncy scene)

And naturally, our intrepid little art hoe takes photos

Nancy finds out and gets even madder at him because if anyone else found out she’d be in trouble and it could ruin her reputation

THEN as though all of that wasn’t enough Jonathan corrects Nancy’s Math error in class and she gets pissed

Because she’s right she's always right (except this time)

And Jonathan teasingly offers to tutor her if she needs it

Thus academic rivalry is born

Nancy is pissed because Jonathan’s Advanced Latin class counts as more credit. Jonathan is pissed because Nancy is so much better at Chemistry.

Nancy tries to transfer into Latin for the extra credit, and Jonathan tries to transfer out of Chemistry because he's better at Earth Sciences (Jonathan isn't successful and Nancy does transfer in but she's completely lost)

It gets to the point where the whole school knows that these two are just insane and trying to one-up each other

Their polisci-debate class is just the two of them arguing over various issues (not that they necessarily disagree but they both approach issues with different viewpoints i.e. gender v class in s3) while the class watches

And the sexual tension is BAD which Nancy knows and hates because she’s mad enough he can challenge her academically but then he’s also hot??? (Robin is unrelenting until Nancy finally admits to thinking that Jonathan is hot but Nancy insists nothing is going to happen)

Jonathan is lowkey-highkey dying inside from the tension but he’s thriving in teasing Nancy over academics (Argyle thinks he's crazy over this and can't figure out why they won't just do hanky panky)

Argyle and Robin end up bonding and forming the “Jonathan & Nancy just make out already club” which they definitely treat like a skull and crossbones-ish secret society

Steve is also an unwilling member

This leads to Jonathan & Nancy having to hang out more outside of class because of their roommates

This also leads to Nancy buying Jonathan a new lens for his camera ( I don’t think she’d get him a whole new camera) for his birthday (I HC his birthday as October 10th) and he feels guilty because it’s too nice of a gift

So to "pay her back" he makes a mixtape for her (Purely platonic he assures Argyle. Can you believe she doesn't know The Cure?) (He def puts Just Like Heaven & Friday I'm in Love on it though)

And maybe on Halloween Nancy and Jonathan end up at a party in the woods behind the school and maybe he lets her borrow his sweater because she’s cold

And maybe he walks her back to her dorm after this party because she’s been drinking a little (not like blacked out though) and there’s allegedly a bear in the woods (Jonathan might also be high and a little paranoid)

On the walk home, he finally reveals that they went to elementary together.

Plot Twist Nancy did remember him but she was still holding a grudge because he disappeared without saying goodbye

Jonathan then apologizes and makes a big deal about saying goodnight to her

She returns his sweater a couple days later and everyone starts gossiping about why she had it and Nancy retreats after this

But then it all comes to a head when their Polisci-Debate professor (Murray) assigns them to be partners on a research article (because he knows)

One minute they’re whisper-arguing in the library and then Jonathan kisses her

Nancy kisses him back

They are hot and heavy making out in the stacks until the librarian catches them

They have to talk their way out of detention

Then they go up to Nancy's room (because Robin is in Jonathan's with Steve & Argyle) and share a bed

They don’t tell anyone though (again Murray knows) because they don’t want to give them the satisfaction

They continue business as usual then one night over Thanksgiving break Robin, Argyle, and Steve catch them holding hands as they’re walking back from the woods and are like “busted”

Steve owes Robin money

They still continue the academic rivalry part though because Jonathan knows Nancy likes the competition and he’s happy to indulge her

They end up tying for the top of the class at the end of the semester effectively ending Nancy’s streak.

I am attempting to write this as a full fic but I cannot write fanfic to save my life so if someone wants to take this plot bunny be my guest (just tag me when you're done)

#I am attempting to write it but I feel like so far it's not great #we'll see #Somewhere in a cross between Anne of Green Gables Dead Poets Society The Secret History and an indie movie called Strike! is this #Did I change the time setting to the 90s purely based on Vibes and that Jonathan needs Nirvana? Yes Yes I did #Also because I think Nancy deserves to listen to The Cranberries #also because Dark Academia is the mid-90s in my brain I don't make the rules here #Do not ask me where Steve & Robin are from it's not hawkins maybe it's Chicago #In this fic they've had to go to the same boring rich people parties for years and that's why they're besties #Also I feel like they def stumble into a rabbit in the woods which gets Jonathan talking in the first place #And then he opens up about how much he misses his brother and Nancy says she has a brother the same age and Jonathan says I know and reveal #stranger things #jancy #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #academic rivals AU

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