COME ON EILEEN ━━ ❝ These people round here
Were beaten down, eyes sunk in smoke-dried face.
They're so resigned to what their fate is
But not us! ❞
[steve harrington x oc]
[stranger things s2 - s3]
[cover by gracefulheretic]
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CHAPTER ONE: COFFEE & CONTEMPLATION.
⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅
1983 FELT LIKE A SIMPLE BLUR TO THE SMALL TOWN OF HAWKINS, INDIANA. For as long as Eileen Nelson had lived in the town that was riddled with pure strangeness, there was nothing out of the ordinary to most of its residents. It constantly thrived off gossip and nuclear families who lived in cookie-cutter neighborhoods straight out of corny films that were always on the rave, but even then the hype died down after a few days—well, except for pompous mothers who quite liked to bring up affairs and scandals during weekly girls night outs or run-ins at the local supermarket even months later. Eileen never did care for any pointless drama and tried to ignore it as often as she could, too focused on her own life to think about what everyone else was doing with theirs. With it just being her father and sister as her mother was long dead, and well, her uncle, she didn't see any reason to pry into the lives of those around her when she had enough people in her life to keep her perfectly entertained; it wasn't her business, after all. However, her longtime best friend had a knack for eavesdropping on his mother's late-night phone calls in hopes that it was Karen Wheeler and he could find out more about Nancy by listening in on part of their conversations. But when Will Byers, a boy Eileen had known for what felt like almost forever, went missing one supposedly boring night after an intense campaign at the Wheeler's house, things in Hawkins were completely flipped upside down and suddenly Eileens life was intertwining with more people than she would've liked.
Eileen wasn't sure what to do without little Will Byers around like a shadow to keep her company or tell her about the groups newest campaign or create chaos with Penny and their close-knit group of outcast friends. She did everything possible to try and help find him—volunteering for every search party that was rounded up, conducting her own intense investigation alongside Penny (despite their fathers attempts to convince them to leave it to the professionals), and especially protecting all of the children when she found a scared little girl living inside the Wheelers' basement with uncanny abilities and "bad men" right on her tail.
It was an odd and wild ride that she certainly wasn't expecting to join during her junior year of high school, but there wasn't a single thing Eileen would've done differently to keep the kids and her family safe from the faceless monster that had reigned terror over Hawkins. She didn't care that she had to sign dozens of confidential documents and keep a tight lid on everything that had taken place last year. Will Byers had returned home and the Nelson family was seemingly closer than they had been since Marsha Nelson died almost eight years ago. They still had their ups and downs just like every other family, but nothing could've ruined what they'd managed to build over the last year.
"One black coffee to match your equally dark soul." Chief Jim Hopper slowly blinked at the sudden voice, sidedly looking up towards his niece—technically step-niece as Andy Nelson was Jims step-brother—who was offering him a lopsided smirk as she carefully held a steaming coffee pot in her hands. Her blonde hair was swiftly pulled up into a floppy bun, only a few loose pieces dangling alongside her temples. A white apron was tightly tied around her waist with a clean rag tucked in one of the pockets, a pen and a stack of order slips tucked into the front one for taking orders. A light blue shirt with BENNY'S BURGERS printed on the front was partially slipped into her faded jeans, the name and the diners info on the back as well. After the cruel murder of Benny Hammond last year, Andy Nelson had gone out on a limb and bought the diner in hopes of keeping his friends business around in honor of him, having quit his job at Randy's Repairs to completely focus on running the place. Some days were better than others, but the place was well-loved and somewhat of a special landmark in Hawkins. "Want a sprinkled donut to go with it?"
