𝙴𝚕𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚗 ~ 𝙴𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚡

《𝟷𝟸》

August 23, 1985
9:18 PM

The two girls were still sleeping in El's bed. It was late and it was getting dark outside. The sky was coloured in a ligt shade of orange and purple, crickets lightly chirping. Hopper came from the station two hours ago and since the girls were sleeping, he decided to not bother them and did what he always does when El has someone over. He grabbed a bag of Cheezballs and turned on the TV. Meanwhile, the noise from the living room woke up a certain redhead. Max rubbed her eyes and kept staring at the ceiling for a while...that was until she turned her head to look out of the window in El's room and panicked. Her eyes widened and she quickly sat, standing up. It was almost completely dark. She looked at her wrist watch and read -21:20-.

~ "Fuck...fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..." She started muttering, reaching up with her hand to brush a few strands of hair behind her ear. She was screwed. Neil and her mom usually got home around 6 pm. She quickly walked out of the room, seeing Hopper on his chair and stopping there for a while.

~ "Uh...Hey Chief." She said when the man noticed her, glancing at the door. She desperately needed to get to her house as quickly as possible. She knew that every minute counts.

~ "Oh, hey. Why the rush?" Hopper asked, taking a sip of his beer.

~ "I need to go home." She quickly answered, wishing she could just run out.

~ "Home? I thought you're staying over night."

~ "Uh...no. I didn't want to leave El alone in here. She's feeling sick. I just wanted to wait with her 'till you come back." Max shook her head, taking a few steps towards the door.

~ "She's sick? Oh...thank you for staying with her. I'll go check on her once she's up." Hopper said looking towards the entrance to the brunette's room. Max just nodded quickly.

~ "Chief, it's late and... I really need to go home." She said, fear of her step-father now consuming her chest. Hopper noticed that she's acting weird. She was usually that bold and sharp kid. Now, she seemed almost afraid. He noticed her eyebrows changing their position quite often and how she was fiddling with her fingers. He thought that something must've happened and nodded at her.

~ "Sure. I can give you a ride home if you want?" Hopper offered and Max immediately agreed, knowing that she would get there earlier than if she rode her bike. Once they stuffed Max's bike into th car, they got inside too and Hopper started driving. The ride was quiet until Hopper decided to ask a few questions.

~ "So...how's your father doing?" He asked and Max moved a bit uncomfortably in her seat.

~ "...uhm...he's my step-father." Was all she said. Hopper's eyebrows pinched together slightly. He knew that usually, when a kid corrects you that the person doesn't really belong to their family like this, they don't have the best relationship.

~ "Step-father? You don't like him?" He continued. Max realised her mistake and looked out of the window.

~ "I don't know...he's...okay I guess." She lied. Hopper could sense from the way she talked that it's not really the truth.

~ "Good. And...what about your mom? Is she doing okay?" He asked and Max knew very well what he's trying to do.

~ "Everything's fine..." She simply answered, and Hopper knew that he should stop this. He just couldn't help but think that something was off here.

~ "Okay, kid." He nodded a bit, the rest of the ride being silent. When the car stopped in front of Max's house, she hesitated for a while before opening the door and thanking Hopper for taking her home. She took her bike too and gave him a small smile when he started the car again and drove off. Max then put her bike in the garage and went up the steps to the front door. She could feel her breath hitching when she heard steps getting closer and closer to the same door she was clutching the knob of. Then the door opened and Max took a step backwards before looking at the person and seeing...her mom. A tall, thin woman with red curls just like Max's. Susan opened the door for her and signaled to her to come inside. Max immediately walked in, hearing the door close behind her again.

~ "It's late. Where have you been?" The woman asked. Max, who was now looking around the living room and the kitchen to make sure he is not there.

~ "I...uh...was at a friend's house. I lost track of time..." Max said truthfully, doubting her mom knew who she was friends with.

~ "You know he doesn't like when you're late. You should've been home by eight." Susan said, walking to the kitchen counter to make something to eat for Max.

~ "Mom...I'm not 10 anymore and it's still summer." Max answered with a little roll of her eyes.

~ "I know. But being 14 still doesn't mean that you should be out this late. It's not even two months since...never mind." The woman suddenly stopped talking, putting a plate in the microwave. Mentioning anything that was connected to Billy was forbidden in this house.

~ "Um...where's Neil?" Max wondered, sitting on a chair by the table. She didn't really care where he is as long as he wasn't anywhere near her.

~ "Oh-he...had to leave the town for a bit. He should be back in a few days." Susan said, but something about her voice sounded off to Max. Almost as if she was...upset? She wasn't going to ask further about it though. She was happy and safe as long as he was gone.

~ "...alright." Max simply answered before Susan put a plate with some pasta for dinner in front of her. Max was starving and quickly muttered a thank you before she dug into it.

- - - - - -------- - - - - -

When El woke up, the first thing she noticed was that her head was still hurting. She reached up with her hand to touch her temple lightly and looked at the night table next to the bed, seeing the cup of tea that Max made her still standing there. She reached out for it and took a few gulps even though the tea was cold by now. She then got up a bit clumsily, still slowly waking up. The brunette then walked out of her room, seeing her dad who was watching the TV.

~ "Hey Hop." She said before walking closer to the chair he was sitting in. Hopper turned around, seeing his daughter and sitting up a bit.

~ "Oh, hey kid. Feeling better? Max said you weren't feeling so good today." He asked and El shrugged.

~ "I don't know. My head still hurts...where's Max?"

~ "She said she needed to go home, so I gave her a ride don't worry." He assured her, getting up to get a towel before wetting it under a cold stream of water. El nodded and watched what he was doing. When he handed her the towel, she wasn't sure what to do with it, so Hopper pointed on her forehead.

~ "It'll help with the headache. Put it on your forehead and go rest okay? The school starts in a week. Can't have you stay home on your first big day huh?" He reminded and El's eyes widened. She completely forgot about the school...this will be her first year attending it with her friends since she was homeschooled by Hopper until now. With a little help from Dr. Owens, Hopper was able to enroll her into Hawkins High school. She will also be tutored to help her catch up with anything she might not understand. She needs to start a normal life and socialize a bit. It was good for her. And even though she was stressing, the thought that her friends are going to be there with her was making her calmer.

~ "You're right...thanks Hop." She smiled at him and stepped closer to give him a hug before she went to bed again. Hopper patted her back with a smile.

~ "Night kid."

~ "Night." El smiled at him too, putting the towel on her forehead and going back to her room.