Jopper Oneshots

Terror and Pain [Extreme Angst & Very Slight Fluff]

Trigger Warnings: Gore, Death

She panicked. Her mind was fogged with terror as she zigzagged through the back streets in an attempt to escape the enraged, drunk man chasing her. She'd already had to deal with something like this, a very similar situation; when he had caught her last time it didn't end well...

She heard Lonnie's enraged scream as he tried to find her in the alley maze. He was catching up to her as her adrenaline was fading because she was now relying on her stamina and she knew that she was out of shape.

She broke out onto a main street, looked around, then darted into the forest on the other side. Joyce knew where she was at this point, her path between the trees was one she knew well and was no longer random.

She could see the cabin ahead, but when she looked back, Lonnie was closer than she wanted him to be. He screamed again, and the fear of ending up bloodied and broken like before pushed her to run faster.

She reached the door and pounded on it while Lonnie was getting up from the tripwire between two trees, which she had easily cleared with a jump. The loud sound it made startled Joyce, but because of how close Lonnie was, she kept banging on the door, fearful for her life. "HOP! EL! PLEASE!" she screamed, terrified.

Neither Eleven nor Hopper answered fast enough, and Lonnie finally caught Joyce. He grabbed her harshly and slammed her into the door, her head making a loud THUNK as it hit the wood forcefully. He moved his hand from her arm to her throat and squeezed, beginning to cut off her ability to breathe. She screamed, but the sound was faint.

She saw nothing but red and felt nothing but pain and empty lungs. She fought back with everything she had, but the man was just too strong for her. She gasped for breath and clawed at the hand restraining her airway, and got a mouthful of blood. The coppery taste was terrible, and the scream she released sounded more like she was gargling mouthwash. Punch after punch landed everywhere, crippling her to the point of uselessness. She hung limply in the grasp of Lonnie, trying to breathe and swallowing her blood.

After what felt like an eternity, the support behind her fell away and she toppled to the ground. Lonnie landed on top of her, forcing the air out of her lungs. The last thing Joyce heard was a scream, and that was when the crushing weight of the bigger man was removed and she could breathe again. But as she lay on the floor, everything began to fade away, sounds becoming muffled, feeling gone.

Hopper let out a sob when he saw her, laying on the floor contorted in ways not possible without broken bones and covered in her blood. Eleven was standing there looking horrified at the terrible sight, but Hopper ignored the young girl. He ran and fell onto his knees by Joyce, checking for breathing. She wasn't. He put his hand on her neck and noted the indents left by the hand. She didn't have a pulse. She was dead, but he wouldn't give up.

He pressed his hands to her rib cage and started CPR. He was crying hard, but he counted dutifully and even did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He never thought that the first time his lips touched hers that it would be CPR, but there they were. He talked to Joyce throughout the process, praying she would return to him. It reminded him of when Will was in the Upside Down and he'd had to do the same thing with Will.

As he pumped harder, he thought about his entire friendship with Joyce, about how much she meant to him. She was everything to him, his best friend, his confidant, and the woman he... he loved. But a confession, while she was dead, meant nothing.

El put her hand on his shoulder, but he just wouldn't stop. He knew she was gone, but he couldn't give up on her like that. Tears flowed freely from his eyes and he couldn't see because of it, but he refused to let Joyce die.

He hit her chest again, and this time she came alive, literally. Her eyes flew open and she gasped for air, spitting out blood. When she had gotten her breath back Hopper pulled her close. He hugged her hard, and she ignored the pain. He was crying into her shoulder and whispering things into her ear as they rocked gently on the floor. She hugged him back, glad she had him for a friend and was safe.