The low tune of 'You Don't Mess Around With Jim' by Jim Croce sounded through the car while a man in his fourties was moving along with the music, holding the steering wheel in one hand and turning the volume up a bit with the other.
~ "Yeah, you don't pull the mask of an old lone ranger and you don't mess around with Jim ba daba deeda ba dee dee-" He sang the lyrics of his favourite song that he knew by heart, bobbing his head into the rythm and overall looking relaxed and happy.
~ "Dad, you do know that Joyce can see you through the rearview mirror, right?" A brunette sitting in the seat beside him asked, looking at the car driving in front of them.
~ "Gotta show my moves." Jim shrugged with a light chuckle, continuing to hum the melody. El liked seeing her dad happy again. She gave him a snort.
~ "Like you got any, old man." She replied sassily, subconsciously playing with the blue hair tie on her wrist.
~ "Just you wait 'til you get your own 'Joyce'. You'll be dancin' like never before." Hopper teased, giving her a quick glance before moving his eyes back on the road. El's eyes widened at his statement slightly.
~ "...What? What are you talking about?" She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.
~ "What do you mean?...Oh! Jeez, kid. Do I need to remind you Amber Fernsby?" Hopper laughed, making El's face pale a bit.
~ "Dad! I...it wasn't like that-" She tried, her eyes wide in panic but Hopper cut her off.
~ "El- calm down, it's okay. I don't mind either way." The father said with a soothing voice, registering his daughter's sudden, strange change in behaviour. El was terrified beyond words. She was recently noticing strange things about herself that she didn't even acknowledge before and it was frightening to her. At least...she knew it was frightening to some people in her old school. Not that she ever mentioned anything about her preferences in front of them. But it was an open debate among the few of her friends back in Fort Wayne and let's just say they weren't being exactly positive about it. El rather didn't say anything anymore, knowing she'd probably start stuttering at some point. So, she looked out of the window, biting her bottom lip anxiously. She had to be more careful. True, it was true that she may have felt something more towards her friend in the past. Amber may have felt it too. It may also be true that she was her first kiss. But that was long gone thanks to the beliefs and pressure of the society.
~ "Dad?" She suddenly spoke up again, not intenting to continue talking about the latest topic though. She didn't look in her father's direction, just looking down into her lap and twisting the blue hair tie around her fingers nervously. Hopper sensed the serious tone in her voice and immediately had an idea as to what she wanted to talk about.
~ "Yeah?" He asked anyway, looking at El for a moment.
~ "I-..I know we've been over this but- why can't I just stay here with you? Like...permanently. I wouldn't have to go anywhere if you tried to talk to mom-"
~ "El, you know what the court said. It's just one weekend in a month. You know your mother would never agree on you permanently staying with me. Can you do this for me? One weekend. Two days in a month. That's it. That's all." Hopper said with a slight frown, trying to focus on the road while speaking. El didn't expect any other answer. She just had to go with this. So she nodded her head with her eyes still in her lap.
~ "I know. Okay."
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Meanwhile, there was silence in the Byers's car. Will was sat in the back and Jonathan sat in the passenger seat, next to Joyce who occasionally took a glance at the rearview mirror, smiling and shaking her head a little when she saw her fiancé weirdly 'dancing' in the car behind them.
