Jopper OS

It wasn't a dream (2/2)

Part 2/2

Joyce walked down the stairs, her hair wet. She, finally, met the gaze of Hopper, who was still on the couch. And she approached him with a frown.

"What are you still doing on that couch?"

"I'm not going to sleep on it, don't get mad. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to sleep on the pull-out in the office... So you can take the guest room and if you, uh... If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Okay..."

Joyce nodded quickly before leaving for the bedroom. She was running away, or avoiding him...? And he knew it.

"Good night Joyce..." He sighed.

Murray was right, completely right about him. He was a little... offended... He had to admit it.

But he didn't know that Joyce was still thinking about Bob... It had been over eight months and she hadn't had any nightmares in a long time. At least that's what she had told him.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Murray's words haunted him and nothing could get them out of his head.

━✯━

Joyce had been settled in bed for over twenty minutes. Her hair was now dry. She had tried every conceivable position to sleep but she couldn't get Murray's speech out of her head.

He was completely crazy, he was talking nonsense! So why hadn't Hopper protested like she had? He just sat there on the couch and watched Murray talk about their lives as if they knew each other. It wasn't like him.

She should talk to him about it, she could sleep after she had some explanation. Yes, his answer was obvious but she didn't believe it, not really.

Joyce jumped to her feet with a sigh, cursing the insomnia.

She opened the door to the guest room and let out a small scream; she had almost run into him.

"Hop!" She exclaimed, raising her eyes to his. "What are you doing he-umf"

He placed his hand over her mouth and signaled her to be quiet with the second.

"Shhh, he would be too happy that his plan worked."

Joyce placed her right hand on Hopper's to force him to take it off her mouth.

"His plan? What plan?" She whispered.

"Everything he said... It's so we can talk and... you know, stop fighting."

"And you came here to talk about what he said?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh... um, I guess. But what were you doing?"

"I... I was coming to see you", she said, shrugging her shoulders as if it were obvious.

"Oh. Can I come in then?" He asked, trying, without much success, to appear nonchalant.

He bit the inside of his cheek while waiting for her answer.

You could see from miles away that he was nervous and he cursed himself inwardly for it.

"Jim Hopper, are you asking me to have a heart-to-heart talk with you?" She asked with a mocking smile.

Hopper scratched the back of his neck with his right hand, he was far from being the king of subtlety, wasn't he? Wait-why was she smiling?

He stared at his second hand, which, to his amazement, was still in Joyce's. She hadn't let go of him since the beginning and he had only just realized it. They were a good match. He blinked a few times as he erased that sentimental thought from his head.