"Shine so bright that it burns their eyes."
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Luna Hopper, a 17 year old sophomore at Hawkins High, wants nothing more than to finish high school and move away from the small town she's forced to call home. Her cold demeanor and standoffish nature h...
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┌────── ☾ ⋅☆⋅ ☽ ──────┐ THIS IS JIM └────── ☾ ⋅☆⋅ ☽ ──────┘
1970 13 YEARS AGO
A three year old Luna sits in her car seat and plays with two pretty dolls while her mom, Diane, drives from the front seat. Luna holds one doll in her right hand and one doll in her left. She moves them around as she speaks out loud with an animated face, pretending that the dolls are conversing. She's dressed in an adorable pair of blue corduroy overalls that end in a skirt, white tights, and bobby socks that ruffle just above her ankles.
Diane pulls the car into a parking spot, causing Luna to stop playing with her dolls. Luna attempts to look out the window, but she's just too short to see even when sitting in a booster seat. She does know where they are though, since her mom told her before they started driving.
"Alright, Lune, are you ready to go?" Diane asks with a heightened tone from the front seat as she takes off her seatbelt.
"Yes!" Luna cheers, tossing her dolls aside and attempting to unbuckle herself from her car seat.
Diane gets out of the car and walks to Luna's door to open it. She chuckles and begins to help luna with her safety restraints. "Alright, alright. Hold your horses."
Once Luna is free from her seat, she opens her arms to let Diane pull her out of the car. Once out, Diane closes the door, locks the car, and grabs onto Luna's hand. She holds the toddler close as they walk towards the local park. This is something the two of them do often when they need a day out, and they both always look forward to it.
However, today is a little different.
"Okay, before we play, I need you to turn your listening ears on for me, okay?" Diane asks. Luna nods and twists invisible knobs next to her ears. "You know how You've been staying with a babysitter recently?"
"Mhm," Luna nods.
"Well, that's because I met a really nice man, and I've been spending a lot of time with him," Diane explains slowly. "I really like him, hon, and I want you to meet him because I think you'll really like him too. Does that sound okay?"
Diane is nervous about introducing Luna to her boyfriend, that much is true. She's been together with Jim for a few months now, and she's been procrastinating this moment since. She just wants everything to be perfect.
"Will he... he play with us too?" Luna asks optimistically with a smile. She's had a small stutter ever since she's leaned how to speak. It's something Diane is constantly helping her with, and she's even thinking about getting a speech therapist, but Luna's doctor had told her that it's a normal thing for children to go through. Diane just tells Luna that she has too many wonderful things to say that sometimes her brain can't keep up with it all.
"Of course he will," Diane answers.
They walk until they get to the park. It's not anything crazy, just a set of swings and a small play set, but it's enough for Luna to have fun without the threat of older kids getting reckless. In front of them is a wooden bench where Luna can see the side profile of a tall man. His elbows are leaned on his knees as he looks forward at the park, only turning when he sees the mother and daughter duo approach out of the corner of his eyes. He immediately gets off of the bench to kneel down in front of Luna with a friendly smile that stretches across his shaven face.
"Hi, there. You must be Luna. Your mom has told me a lot about you."
Luna smiles shyly at the man, grabbing onto Diane's hand with both of hers in nervousness.
Diane runs a soothing hand through Luna's hair and bends down next to her. "This is Jim, the man I was talking to you about. Can you say hi?"
"Hi," Luna waves.
Jim smiles fondly at the young girl before gesturing to the park. "Your mom said you really like this park. Do you have a favorite part?"
Luna's eyes light up at the question and she immediately gets over her nervousness and lets go of Diane's hand to take Jim's. She excitedly drags him with her to the slide where she shows him how to use it.
Diane stands close by, but catches herself silently watching as Jim and Luna laugh and talk. They continue to get along well as they spend more time together, and Luna seems to genuinely like Jim, much to Diane's relief.
As much as Diane loves Jim, if Luna didn't like him, Diane wouldn't have a choice but to break it off. Luna's opinion means the world to her, and Jim knows that, so he's just as happy to have that approval.
After an hour or two at the park, Luna gets visibly tired, signaling that it's time to go back home.
"Can Jim... Can- can he play with me again?" Luna asks as Diane holds her in her arms, walking towards the parking lot with Jim walking next to him.
Jim looks to Diane for an answer, and she smiles. "Of course he can. How about he comes over tomorrow for dinner?"
"Okay," Luna yawns, leaning her head on Diane's shoulder.
Once they get to the parking lot, Jim kisses the top of Diane's head before addressing Luna. "I had fun today, Luna. I'm excited to see you tomorrow."
"Me too," Luna smiles tiredly, only opening one of her heavy eyes to look at Jim.
Diane knew deep down that the introduction would go off without a hitch, but that little ounce of worry had disappeared the second they met. The three of them truly couldn't ask for a better day.
