𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞; 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

𝐨𝐧𝐞; 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦

(This takes place around the year 1996-1997, about 10 years after Season 4 of Stranger Things. Every chapter will have a collage that will set the vibe for the chapter, I was inspired by dyspneagrime on Wattpad. I highly recommend checking out their work. Every chapter will have a song attached to it that I consider matches the vibe of the chapter)

Song: From Eden by Hozier

Warnings: strong language, misogyny (a little bit), mentions of death, mentions of mourning a death

Johanna cast a quick glance at the watch on her wrist, a frown washing over her face. Her eyes weren't glued to her wrist for long as she drew her eyes back to the road she was speeding down. She chewed her glossed lip restlessly, a habit she'd picked up somewhere along the path to adulthood. Johanna knew she couldn't avoid the imminent scolding from her father, but it still had her desperate for a distraction.

She arrived at her destination after a few more minutes of nervous speeding down the seemingly empty road. Hawkins Police Station, or as she saw it, the most boring place to work in the nation was as bustling as ever at nine in the morning. From her view of the parking lot, while she was pulling in, she could see her father pacing the sidewalk in front of the entrance. Johanna reluctantly rolled her window down, inwardly screaming to herself. She knew what she was about to hear as her father took a step off the curb to meet her at her car. Johanna let out a frustrated sigh as she mustered up the courage to face him.

"Yes, Dad?" Johanna was already aware of what was coming. It was the second time she was late this week.

"Jo, where the hell were you? I gave you an opportunity by letting you work here and you're just throwing it away. I give you something good and you always throw it right back in my face! You're staying late again to make up for your time because you're a whole hour late, Johanna!" Hopper's voice could be heard before she even saw his face. But she didn't need to see his face to know that he was absolutely infuriated.

She came to find out that he was a sticker for the rules except when they applied to him. A few times a month, he'd come in battling a cruel hangover, but did she mention his tardiness? Sure, if she had a death wish.

Johanna rolled her eyes, taking a glance back at her reflection in the small car mirror as her father spouted on about responsibility. She was only volunteering at the station, she wasn't formally employed, but Hopper managed to slip her a small paycheck under the table once every two weeks.

It was a boring job, to say the least. She sat at a desk clicking her pen absentmindedly and sorting papers and police report files that some of the officers were too lazy to put into perfectly organized file cabinets. Johanna wasn't very good with people, so it blew her mind that her father would put her at the front desk to talk to anyone who strolled in with a problem. The amount of time she contemplated screaming at a bitchy citizen who came to the front desk was appalling. She'd been working there for a little over a year by now.

Well, volunteering.

Johanna only stayed around because it gave her time with her new best friend, Robin. They met at the station when Johanna started her position. Hopper introduced the two and within a couple of hours they were being told to quiet down by other divisions in the building. Sure, Robin was older than her by 9 years or so, but the two gossiped as if they'd known each other for their entire lives.

Robin would share stories about a guy she knew named Steve, and Johanna was always left thoroughly entertained. She'd even show Johanna some of her faded scars from her teen years, yet she'd never disclose where actually she got them. Either way, Johanna never pushed into it.