Hello everyone and welcome on board for this little fluffy ride! Before we start I have to warn you that English is not my main language. So please let me know if you find any mistakes. I hope you enjoy this and I can't wait for your opinion : )
Chapter 1: no means no
He tried his best but in the end, he failed miserably. What was he even thinking? Keeping a thirteen-year-old locked up in an old cabin in the middle of the wood for a whole year. It took her less then onehunderedandfifty days to break his resolves with her sad big Bambi eyes and her soft voice. It was impossible to not love this girl with her innocent and curious view of this world that hadn't been very good to her this far.
That is how Chief Hopper found himself in a local shopping mall holding a worn red shopping basket filled to the brim with pens and paper and folders and all the knickknack one seemed to need these days when attending middle school. Back in his days, they had nothing more but a few sheets and a pencil.
From one of his shoulders hung a huge bright pink backpack. Pink was El's favorite color. He suspected that it might have to do with her past spend mainly in plain rooms colored in white and blue. The bright girly color seemed to calm her and lighten her mood. Although he didn't really care for girl's stuff he would never forget the warm feeling in his chest on the day he surprised his new daughter with her new room which consisted of walls colored in light pink, a desk and a dresser made of bright wood and a comfy bed with a new floral comforter. All thankfully chosen by Joyce Bowers and Nancy Wheeler.
Hopper didn't earn that much as a chief of a small town but he would spend everything he has to see that brown eyes widened in disbelieve and that happy smile on that lovely face of his girl every day.
He had to shake his head to find back to the presence. Thoughts like that were what got him in this current situation. Not even a dad for a whole year and already he was agreeing to bend his rules. He really wanted to keep El for himself for a whole year or better until she would be thirty but he also understood that she was curious and eager to catch up to the life that was forcefully taken from her for the last thirteen years. Therefore he allowed her to return to school at the end of this summer together with her friends.
Speaking of which his gaze wandered along the aisle where his daughter was currently browsing through a selection of glittery pencil cases while the Wheeler boy stood beside her holding a similar shopping basket and looking at the girl like she was about to tell him the secret for immortality.
He knew his name was Mike… mainly because most of his day was filled with talks about what Mike had to say and what Mike thought… but somehow he felt more comfortable to refer to him as 'the Wheeler' boy or 'that guy'. He knew he was a good kid. After his little breakdown, he even had the guts to confront Hopper about it and apologize for his behavior and Hopper couldn't deny that he respected him for that move, given that he usually tried his best to intimidate him into the floor.
Although he would never admit it out loud, he was actually quite fond of the boy for what he had done for his little girl during the last two years. But El was just so young and innocent. Even after what she had been through she didn't know anything about teenage boys and heartache and if the boy would ever break her heart Hopper just knew that he couldn't take it.
On the other hand, everyone with eyes could see that the thing between those two was so much more than what any usual thirteen years old could even understand. As he witnessed the way Mike was treating her… a girl who could easily break the neck of a grown man… like a precious doll made of the finest china, he knew that he would not hurt her on purpose.
What he didn't calculate was that his decision to let this romance grew unhindered involved having the boy around him in every waking minute. Obviously, his parents didn't care much about his whereabouts because Mike was with them whenever he could and now that the two would go to school together they won't even have to separate for that.
With a sight, Hopper cleared his throat to get the attention of the two teens. "Don't you think that will be enough for now Jane? We can still come back for more once school has started if you notice something is missing."
Jane put the pencil case she had chosen carefully into the basket Mike was holding and the two shared a soft smile. Then she turned to face her father and gave him the same smile accompanied with a nod. She still wasn't much of a talker and although Joyce had given him the advice to urge her into using actual words he wanted her to just do what she was comfortable with.
Hopper gestured for them to follow him to the checkout and as soon as he turned his back to them he could hear soft giggling. The chief rolled his eyes. He was clearly about to get a headache.
"Back to school Hopper?" Petty the cashier asked him with a grin as she was checking out their goods. The woman was a Hawkins native for her whole life and had worked in the little supermarket for longer than Hopper cared to remember. "It's for my daughter who is going to attend the local school this summer. Jane says hi to Mrs. Perkin." Hopper grumbled and the girl gave the older woman a soft greeting before she took a shy step behind Mike.
"Uhhh is that the girl you… ähm… your daughter?" Petty asked him excitedly while she watched El with awe. By now everyone in town knew the story of Hopper having an illegitimate child he took in after her mother died. Given his reputation with women, no one doubted that. He was just hoping that the story wouldn't reach his Ex-wife as he wouldn't want her to think he had cheated on her. Not after what they had been through together.
The man just nodded for an answer and hurriedly shoved a few dollar bills into her direction to get them out of here. Petty looked like she wanted to say more but she knew the Chief well enough to see that he wasn't in the mood for a chat so she just sends the shy little girl a reassuring smile and wished the group a good day as they left the store.
"Those people are such a nosy bunch. I would be glad if they could just care about their own business." He growled between clenched teeth as they were walking to his car what earned him a concerned look from his daughter. "Nice lady." She objected in a reassuring tone and he had to smile at her. "Yeah, you are right El. Forgive me I'm just a grumpy old man." He pulled a face at her what made her laugh.
They were just about to finish packing the trunk when a crackling electric sound disturbed them. Quickly Mike shrugged his backpack off and fished one of those huge old walkie-talkies from it.
"Paladin Mike please come. This is Will the wise. Over." Hopper rolled his eyes again what earned him another delighted giggle from El. "This is Mike. What do you want?" Mike answered with a slightly unnerved tone.
"Just checking on your attitude." The voice of another boy answered and they could hear laughing in the background. Mike groaned. "We are all invited to Max house for the afternoon and we wanted to know if you will come too." A third voice said which Hopper recognized as Lukas. At the mentioning of the red-haired girl, Hopper noticed a slight frown forming on the usual angelic face beside him. He wondered what that might mean.
"Oh come on lover boy. You can see her all day once school has started." Lukas whined. The frown on El's face deepened. He guessed that she was torn between keeping Mike for herself and not wanting to keep him from his friends. "Ask her if she wants to come you, idiots." The voice of a girl sounded from the background.
Now Mike looked up at his girlfriend to search her face for a decision. After a second El broke the contact to look at Hopper instead.
Be strong. Don't give in this time. There was that look again. "Okay fine you can go. Might be good to have at least one girl around you. I get you there and I will pick you up at nine. Not a minute later." A grin broke her face and Mike looked relieved too as he let his friends know that they were on their way.
Maybe Hopper should use his free time to train his willpower in an animal shelter with practicing to say no to newborn puppies.
