Home (Jim Hopper)

Chapter 9

Amelia found herself in a daydream as her dad drove them to the meetup point for another search party. She bobbed her head to the music in the background as she watched the world go by. The blur of green was often broken up by the dark figure which made her jolt, but she quickly relaxed when she realised it was only her imagination.

Surprisingly enough her father did not argue against her with going on the search party, considering what happened last time but she was dreading to see Jim. She was sure he was going to make an unnecessary fuss. She didn't like the fact that he seemed to be babysitting her, she was her own woman and could do as she pleased. He did not need to worry, she's been able to look after herself for 20 years without him, she was sure she could continue to do so.

They were once again the last to arrive. It seemed more people had joined the search party now and that worried her. With each minute that passed, the situation seemed to become more serious. At first, she just thought Will would be hiding, then she thought that maybe he gotten himself hurt, but now she feared something far worse. Something possibly, supernatural.

Her father got out of the car, immediately greeted by many people, Jim being one of them. She didn't move, not recognizing any others faces. She saw Jim and her father talking, they both looked to her for a moment and she felt uncomfortable under their stare. With an annoyed sigh, Amelia stepped out of the car. She leaned on the closed door and lit herself a cigarette. Not a moment later she felt the car move a little, she didn't bother to turn her head. She knew who it was.

"Don't even. I'm coming on this search party and I don't particularly care if you want me to or not," she was blunt.

"Whoa whoa, what's with the hostility!" He raised his hands in defence. "I was just coming to see how you're feeling." He lit his own cigarette. Amelia side-eyed him and exhaled a cloud of smoke upwards.

"I'm good."

"Why so blunt?"

"Cause I know where this conversation is going Jim." She turned to face him. "You're gonna be all like, 'do you think it's a good idea after yesterday'?" she made her voice low trying to mimic him, "''maybe you should just take the day off', and all that other shit." Amelia was far too overdramatic with both her voice and arm gestures that she didn't realise Jim watched her with an amused smile.

Once she finished, Jim pushed himself off the car and stood in front of her, his head at a slight tilt as he wondered what caused this random outburst from her, though he did find it comical. "You're right," he stated, "I was going to say those exact things." He nodded and raised his eyebrows as he tried to keep his smile down. Amelia sensed the sarcasm and punched his arm.

"I'm serious!"

"So am I," he chuckled, rubbing the area she punched, "I don't think it's a good idea for you to come but,"

"But?"

He sighed and looked to her with a half-smile, "You're going to come no matter what I say cause you're still the same stubborn girl."

"You bet I am."

"Just try not to wander off this time? I nearly died running around looking for you yesterday."

You nearly died? She thought. I'm the one who got chased! But she didn't voice that thought.

"Worried were you?" She couldn't help but tease. Jim Hopper was the boy all the girls seemed to have a crush on when they were younger. He never truly showed any emotions, he just slept around, had fun but he'd always wear his heart on his sleeve around Amelia. Always worried and cared for her -which make her vastly disliked by most girls in school- and she was glad to see he was still like that with her. Even if he did seem like an overprotective dad at times.