"I'll fucking break his fingers." Hopper growled out into the cab of the truck. "I don't want you tutoring him any more."

"Hop, you can't tell me not to tutor him, this is allowing me to get top marks for graduation. If I don't, I won't be top of our class." Joyce whined, moving her hand to rest over his as she watched him stew for several minutes and every now and then flex his jaw, making his five o'clock shadow stand out even more for a few brief seconds. Finally, he exhaled and sat back into his seat, his fingers slowly threading between hers.

"Fine, you can still tutor him as long as it's not one on one. I want someone else there with you at all times. Maybe Karen, but you are not to be alone with him, is that understood?"

Hopper never demanded anything of her and to hear him do it now meant that Lonnie had really ruffled his feathers. Joyce gave Hopper a slight nod before she found herself climbing into his lap, each of her legs on either side of him. Her hands ran up his neck, her thumbs brushing the sharp features of his chin causing him to close his eyes. The feeling of her just touching him was already overwhelming.

"Not that I object...but what are you doing?" He whispered into her ear before taking the lobe gently between his teeth.

"I just need to be close to you. Besides your parents, you're the only person I've ever been close to. You want to protect me and take care of me, and I'm still getting used to that."

"I will always protect you Joyce. You're my everything. Never forget that." Hopper leaned forward, his lips brushing against hers. When she didn't pull away, he kissed her fully, allowing his hands to rest on the swell of her ass as she unconsciously ground her hips down onto his, making him groan.

"Keep that up and we're going to need to clean the treehouse when we get home." He chuckled and Joyce playfully swatted him on the chest. Giving him one last kiss, Joyce climbed down from her perch and sat carefully beside him.

"Come on Hop, I know you're hungry. Let's go home."

Two weeks had passed since the incident with Lonnie. Two complete weeks where Joyce felt like she was tutoring Hopper instead of him. Now that the wrestling season was over, Hopper found he had a lot of free time after school, so he made a point to study in the library, always just a table away from Joyce, Lonnie, and sometimes Karen when she was tutoring freshmen.

It was Tuesday evening when Joyce and Hopper climbed up the steps to the farm house and casually kicked off their boots on the front porch before tumbling through the front door, both of them trying to beat the other one inside. They found Greg and Mary in the kitchen, Mary was at the pantry searching for God knows what and Greg was peeling potatoes over the sink, the discarded skins falling into a bowl below. Hopper instantly picked up on the weird tension radiating between his parents.

"Hey guys, how was school?" Mary asked when she turned around and spotted her kids standing near the kitchen table.

"Same as usual I guess. I know it sounds crazy, but I am beyond ready to be done with school. At least high school anyway."

Mary laughed at Joyce's comment, knowing the feeling all too well. She said the same thing three months before she graduated high school. Had it really been that long ago? Looking at Jim she guessed it had. Glancing over to the sink, she focused on Greg, they had been high school sweethearts. Even made prom king and queen together. His hair had a few more streaks of grey in it now than he had back then and more laugh lines, but his eyes were just as bright as they had been in freshman year when he asked her to be his. Mary silently laughed as she watched her husband concentrate on peeling the potatoes, his tongue was peeking out between his lips in concentration.

"Anything we can do to help with dinner?" Joyce asked as she grabbed the carton of milk out of the fridge to pour herself a glass.

"I think we have it covered honey, I guess just help Jim knock out chores before we eat."

Joyce gave a quick nod as she handed Hopper the rest of her milk. He downed it in two swigs before stepping beside his dad to rinse out the glass.

"Ready honey?" Hopper called over his shoulder as he gave his dad a slight nudge and headed to the hall closet without waiting for Joyce.

Once the view of the kids hand in hand heading to the barn filled the kitchen window, Mary heard Greg let out an audible sigh. She looked once more over to her husband, who was currently using the sink to hold himself up.

"After dinner. She doesn't eat enough as it is." Greg commented, before grabbing the next potato to peel away the skin.

The sound of running water echoed through the kitchen as Joyce filled the sink with tonight's dishes and soap. She wasn't sure what it was, but dinner felt tense. Maybe Greg and Mary had had a fight and weren't talking for the moment. Whatever the reason, she didn't like it, not one bit. Her hands were beneath the surface of the water, grabbing for whatever piece of dinnerware she could find to help with the cleaning process.

"Joyce, why don't you come over here and sit down for a second sweetheart, Jim, you too." Mary called, her tone making dread fill the pit of Joyce's stomach. Mary only used that tone when something bad was going on and Joyce glanced over her shoulder, meeting Hopper's eyes. He had felt the awkwardness as well, it was clearly written on his face. Reaching across the counter for a dish towel, Joyce dried her hands as she sat back down at the table, Hopper close behind her. His hand came to rest on her thigh, a habit he had picked up recently when he felt she needed a reassuring touch from him. Greg and Mary sat in silence for a second, neither one of them sure how to broach the subject. Taking a deep breath, Greg reached for Mary's hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Brad called today. The date for the trial is set for the third of February." Greg stated, looking back and forth between Hopper and Joyce's faces. "I know he originally said the twenty seventh, but it took longer than expected to get everything situated with the judge since I had requested him personally."

"Well that's good isn't it? Means he's finally going to go to prison? With the shit he pulled at the station, his priors, and all the evidence, there's no way he's going to weasel his way out of it right dad?" Jim's words rushed out in a jumbled mess. He could practically feel the tension rolling off of Joyce now, which if he was being honest, was making him nervous. She had finally seemed to be handling what had happened to her.

"What did he say?" Joyce's voice brings Hopper out of his thoughts and he glances at the calendar on the pantry door, noting today's date was the twenty fourth. Eleven days before the trial.

"He wants to set up a meeting with you sometime over the next two days to make sure we have everything in order." Mary spoke, her gaze focusing solely on Joyce.

"Do I have anything to worry about? Is there anything I can do to make sure that he goes to prison? That I can finally be free of him?"

Greg didn't miss the change in Joyce's breathing. This was why he had wanted to wait until after dinner to have this conversation, because he knew it was going to worry her.

"He just wants to make sure we have all our ducks in a row before we go to trial. Like Jim said, with Travis's priors, testimonies from the nurses and doctors who were at the hospital the night you came in, the photos, there's no way that he's going to walk free." Greg commented, reaching for his cup of coffee.

"Brad said a phone call would suffice, that you didn't have to come down to his office or the station if you didn't want to. We just need to know what you would prefer to do sweetheart."

Joyce glanced at Hopper who gave her an encouraging nod.

"A phone call would be fine I suppose..." She breathed, trying to get her lungs to corporate.

Greg nodded and reached across the table, taking Joyce's hand in his.

"He's not going to touch you ever again Joyce. I promise on my life."

Hopper could feel how tired Joyce was after the conversation with his parents and he knew all she wanted to do was retreat to the safety of his bedroom and lay down. He just prayed that tonight's talk wouldn't make her have one of those God awful migraines. Not to mention the shit that was going on with that weirdo she tutored, he didn't need her to break down on him.

At the moment she was standing on her side of the bed unbuttoning the buttons of her flannel and the fabric fell from her shoulders to reveal her white cotton bra.

"Like what you see Hop?" She whispered, turning to face him while he stood in front of his closet.

"Love it actually." He whispered, not even sure if she heard him. Pulling his shirt over the top of his head, he quickly dropped his jeans to the floor before making his way over to the bed.

"Last one up turns off the light." He called, pulling the blankets up to his chest. Joyce rolled her eyes and turned her back on him to unclasp her bra. Her eyes glanced to the window where she saw him watching her in the reflection of the glass.

"That's cheating watching me in the window." She laughed, reaching for her white night shirt. Once the fabric fell to her thighs, she shimmied out of her jeans and made her way over to the light switch.

"I better not hit my toe on anything or I'm kicking your ass." Joyce said as she carefully crossed the room back to her side of the bed. Reaching out into the complete darkness, Joyce felt the edge of the bed and quickly caught her bearings. Crawling under the covers, she snuggled into the warmth of Hopper's chest and his arms instantly curled around her, pulling her in.

"You really think we're going to win the case Hop?" She whispered, not sure if he would give her an honest answer.

"I know we will honey, you just have to have faith."

"But what if I don't? What if all I can think about is him going free with nothing but a slap on the wrist?"

Hopper kissed the top of her head before bringing his arm around to rest his hand on the small of her back, his fingers gently running along the elastic band of her panties.

"That's what you have me for honey, for when your faith is low, I can have enough for both of us."

Hopper felt the light kiss Joyce placed on his chest and sighed in contentment. Everything had to go right at the trial, because if it didn't, he didn't know what limits he wouldn't go through to protect the woman he loved.

"I love you Joyce, and I promise you will never be harmed by that sorry excuse of a man ever again."

"I love you too Jim, forever and always."

A week in and Joyce had had enough. What purpose did taking gym the last quarter of her senior year serve in the first place? She didn't need the grade to graduate, she didn't need the experience as sports weren't even on her radar, she got more than enough exercise working on the farm, and she sure as hell didn't get any enjoyment out of having yet another class with Chrissy and Marissa. As if it wasn't bad enough dealing with them one on one, it was an absolute nightmare having to endure almost two hours of them together.

She already knew Chrissy hated her, and she'd been expecting the snarky remarks and shit talking, but after Hopper blew up on Marissa, it was like Joyce was the bane of her existence. For the most part everyone was leaving Joyce alone. Now that she was friends with Karen, add that to dating Hopper, it was like she was living a completely different life, but Marissa and Chrissy were two thorns in her side she knew wouldn't just go away because of the people she now associated with.

"Hello, earth to Joyce." Karen said, pushing her elbow into Joyce's side as they walked laps around the gym.

The touch snapped Joyce from her thoughts and she blinked, turning to face Karen who had her eyebrow raised. "Sorry, what?"

Karen laughed and rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure nothing I just said is going to be as interesting as what's going on in that head of yours, so spill."

"You ever wish you could set things on fire with your mind?" Joyce asked randomly, eyeing the two figures walking in front of her that just so happened to be Chrissy and Marissa.

The question made Karen laugh even harder. "See what I mean? Way more interesting." Following her line of sight, she realized instantly what she meant by her question. "They still giving you problems?"

Joyce shrugged. "No more than normal. I honestly think I liked them better when they were calling me trash and pushing me into lockers. At least then Hop- I mean Jim wasn't involved."

Karen smiled at the fact Joyce had corrected herself like she didn't know she rarely ever called Jim by his first name. "His little speech he gave a few weeks ago seems to be doing the trick though don't you think?"

"Yeah, everyone seems to be leaving him alone for now...but for me, its like instead of being hated because i was the weird kid, I'm hated for having something everyone wants. It's like no matter what I do I can't win. The only reason most people leave me alone now is because of Jim, not because people actually like me."

"Welcome to the world of females. I know you haven't had many friends, but girls in general are mean petty bitches. Thankfully you have me though, because I'm awesome and I happen to like you for you, not because of who you're dating." Karen said with a smirk, not able to hold back a giggle at the look Joyce gave her. "Besides, I think your main concern should be Lonnie, that kid is creepy."

"What do you mean?" Not that Joyce had forgotten about him touching her, she just wanted to make sure there wasn't something else going on she had completely missed.

"Seriously? He's got it bad for you."

"What?" She had to be mistaken, sure Lonnie was a creep, but guys didn't like Joyce Horowitz like that, hell no one liked her, no one other than Karen and Hopper really even knew anything about her.

Karen touched Joyce's shoulder, leaning in a little closer to her. "If there's one thing I've learned about the guys in this town, it's how they look when they see something they like, and he most definitely likes you."

"But he knows I have a boyfriend."

"Since when has that stopped anyone from trying to get what they want? Just look at all the girls after your man." Karen pointed out, dropping her hand to her side.

Joyce took a minute to let that bit of information sink in as she made her way over to a blue mat on the floor where her and a partner were supposed to take turns doing stretches. Instead, her and Karen both sat down and leaned against the wall watching everyone else while continuing to talk. "He rubbed my leg out in the parking lot after Jim had his wrestling tournament…" Joyce admitted, finding it nice to have someone else other than Hopper to talk to about things like this.

"He did what?" Karen asked in disbelief, listening as Joyce retold the story about Marissa and her sisters, and how Lonnie tried to play hero before touching her. "So that's why Jim's always in the library now? Because I know for a fact I've only seen him in there maybe twice in the four years I've been tutoring."

Joyce smiled when Karen took a small stab at her boyfriend because she knew it was true. Hopper rarely ever went to the library unless he knew she was going to be there. "He wanted me to stop tutoring him all together, but I can't if I want to graduate top of our class. Do you really think he'll try to do something else?"

"Just make sure you're not alone with him again. I know I said the way he looks at you means he likes you, but the way he watches everything you do is a little obsessive and weird. Like right now…" Joyce watched as Karen casually pointed over her right shoulder where she assumed Lonnie was standing, and just as she turned in that direction a basketball came flying at her face so fast she barely had a chance to lean out of the way as it smacked against the wall behind her, missing her by an inch.

"Jesus." Joyce whispered as she pushed herself off of Karen, not missing the laughter she heard coming from across the gym where Marissa and Chrissy were standing.

"You alright?" Someone asked just as she noticed Benny making his way toward them. A hand touching her shoulder caused Joyce to jump and that's when she noticed Lonnie had been the one speaking to her.

Karen slapped at Lonnie's hand as soon as she saw the way Joyce jumped. "Back off."

"Whoa, hey, I was just seeing if she was ok." Lonnie defended, holding up both of his hands to show he meant no harm.

Joyce suddenly felt surrounded. Almost every set of eyes in the gym were now looking in her direction and two large bodies were hovering over her. Two bodies she didn't exactly feel comfortable having that close to her own. "I'm fine." She managed to get out as she pushed herself to stand, Karen moving with her.

When Lonnie reached out for Joyce again, it was Benny who stopped him this time. "Dude, chill out."

Joyce silently thanked Benny with a quick glance and was about to walk away when Chrissy came from around him, Marissa hot on her heels.

"Quick reflexes you got there loser, a shame really, might have done that thing you call a face some good getting hit." Chrissy snipped.

Marissa giggled and nudged Chrissy's arm with her elbow. "I'm still trying to figure out how Jim can stand to look at it how it is now."

"Ok seriously, why does everyone in this school have a problem with Joyce?" Lonnie asked out of nowhere, looking between everyone confused.

Chrissy laughed, turning to face him. "You have a lot to learn around here new kid."

Karen took a step forward, placing herself in front of Joyce with a hand on her hip. "What, like the fact you two bitches can't let shit go?"

"Since when did the two of you become friends anyway?" Marissa asked. "Pretty sure you contributed just as much as the rest of us."

"Actually." Benny cleared his throat. "Karen never once said anything bad about Joyce. In fact, I think this is the first time I've ever heard Karen say anything bad about anyone."

Which was true. Karen was one of the popular kids that had a small group of close friends and didn't get involved in high school drama. She had definitely been present on more than one occasion when others were talking shit about Joyce, or making comments as she walked by, but she stayed out of it. Karen was known for being helpful and kind, so for her to stand up for Joyce and call someone else a bitch in front of others was a little out of character, but it showed that the friendship her and Joyce were slowly creating was genuine.

"Then what about you?" Chrissy asked Benny with a raised brow. "A month ago you were whining about how the biggest loser in the school stole your best friend."

Benny clenched his jaw and shut his eyes. "Look, I know I'm an asshole, but at least I'm trying to make up for all the messed up shit I've done. At least I feel bad about it. Like Karen said, the two of you need to learn to let things go and move on." Even after everything Benny had done, Jim still never badmouthed him to anyone and Joyce never spoke a word about how horrible he'd been toward her. That quickly made him realise how much of a piece of shit he really was and he didn't want to go on living a life where he just made everyone around him miserable. He didn't expect Jim or Joyce to actually ever forgive him, but if two people he had hurt could still be decent toward him, he knew something major in his life needed to change.

Joyce moved slightly so Karen was no longer in front of her and watched in silence as she tried to understand what was happening. This was the first time someone other than Hopper had ever defended her and she honestly had no idea how to feel about it. Especially since one of the people defending her had been one of the people who'd hurt her the most.

"You guys still never answered my question." Lonnie said when there was a pause in the conversation, all eyes suddenly falling on him like he'd said the stupidest thing ever. "What? There's obviously a lot of tension here and Joyce for some reason seems to be the focal point. What exactly did she do to piss you all off so much?"

"How long you got?" Chrissy sneared, smacking her gum obnoxiously.

"Oh give it a rest." Karen butted in. "Joyce simply existing was enough of a reason for you to hate her."

"Or the fact she busted up my face and stole my boyfriend!" The rise in Chrissy's voice started drawing more attention to their small group.

Living a life hiding in the shadows and keeping to herself made being the center of attention difficult to process and Joyce felt herself becoming anxious the longer they all stood there talking about her.

"Pretty sure you hated her before all of that." Benny added.

Marissa stepped forward to face Benny. "She's a psycho just like her father, that's the only reason she went off on Chrissy in the first place. Jim will get tired of her shit eventually and realize he's wasting his time."

"What exactly do you even know about her father Marissa? Or Jim for that matter?" Karen held out her hands in question.

Joyce felt her chest start to tighten and she blinked back tears as the conversation around her faded into the background, her mind becoming clouded by her anxiety. She tried to suck in a deep breath to keep herself calm, not wanting to make a scene and add more fuel to the fire, but it wasn't working. All of the confidence she'd shown Marissa and her sisters in the parking lot after Jim's tournament was long gone and she didn't understand why. The mix of emotions crashing down on her was just too much.

"Joyce?" Lonnie whispered her name, ignoring the bickering still going on around them when he noticed the state she was in.

Lonnie touching her arm was all it took for Joyce to shift her stance and put distance between her and the unwanted contact. "Stop…" She choked out, her voice so low she wondered if she'd even said the word out loud. Lonnie said her name again and when she didn't respond, he went to touch her face and Joyce flinched, knocking his hand out of the way. "Stop touching me."

Thankfully her voice hadn't been loud enough to gather the attention of the entire gym, but the small group around her fell silent and turned in her direction to see what had caused the sudden outburst.

Joyce roughly wiped tears from her cheeks and clutched the collar of her shirt as she tried to even out her breathing. Without a word she shoved passed Benny and Marissa and made her way toward the locker room, feeling herself starting to panic. She shook out her hands when she reached her locker and sucked in several deep breaths, trying anything to get herself to calm down.

With a frustrated sigh Joyce opened her locker and pulled her shirt over her head, dropping it onto the wooden bench beside her before reaching for her flannel. Her hands were shaking so bad she couldn't get her arm to go into the hole of the sleeve and she suddenly wanted to scream.

The sound of people approaching caused her heart rate to increase when she realized she was standing there in only her bra. Joyce had been careful most of her life to keep her body hidden from the world and for some reason that same body chose then to betray her by not allowing her hands to accomplish the simple task of dressing herself.

"Why can't you two just leave her alone?" Joyce heard Karen ask as she came around the corner, turning to face Marissa and Chrissy who were following her.

"Why can't you mind your own business?" Chrissy shot back, stopping dead in her tracks when she took in the sight of Joyce still fumbling with her flannel. "Oh this is too good."

Karen made her way over to Joyce, carefully taking the shirt from her shaking hands when she saw how distressed she was. "Just ignore them." She whispered as she helped Joyce slide her arms into the shirt and over her shoulders, trying to save her some dignity if that were even possible at this point. Her back had been completely bare to her, and the marks painting her skin didn't go unnoticed by Karen, or Chrissy and Marissa for that matter.

"Shut the fuck up!" Karen yelled when the two of them kept making comments about Joyce's body. "Jesus Christ don't you have something better you could be doing?"

Marissa laughed and took a step toward her. "Oh come on, you know you're thinking the same thing we are. Who the hell would ever want to touch that? I guess I can understand Jim tolerating her face, but this is disgusting. I mean...unless he doesn't know?"

"Do you really think the trash princess puts out after two months of dating?" Chrissy mocked. "I'm surprised she even knows how to- Hey! You can't be in here!"

For most seniors, having a free period meant studying for finals or applying to colleges, all of which Hopper had been avoiding. Instead he chose to spend his time either sleeping in his truck, leaving Joyce notes in her locker, or smoking under the bleachers. He was still undecided what he was going to do after High School and his grades were well beyond what was needed to graduate, so he didn't see the point in spending the next few months stressing over nothing. Which is exactly why he was currently relaxing outside under the bleachers with a cigarette between his lips for the next twenty minutes before he had to go to biology.

He'd been humming along to a song stuck in his head when the sound of heavy breathing and shoes smacking against concrete made him open his eyes to see Benny running toward him.

"There you are…" Benny panted, leaning forward to rest his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

Hopper inhaled a lung full of smoke and pushed himself away from the pole he'd been leaning against, eyeing him suspiciously. "Everything alright?" He asked, finding it strange that he'd been looking for him considering there was still a lot of tension between them. They had been talking a little more since winning all state, but they weren't exactly friends.

Benny shook his head and stood up straight with a sigh once he could breathe again. "Joyce needs you. Marissa tried to hit her with a basketball, then her and Chrissy and Karen got into an argument. Lonnie said something, I said something, everyone was fighting and Joyce started freaking out before she took off running into the locker room. Karen, Marissa and Chrissy went after her."

Hopper barely had a chance to blink as he tried to keep up with the rush of words spilling from Benny's mouth. The only part that really mattered was 'Joyce needed him' and he was already tossing his cigarette to the ground and heading toward the gym, listening as Benny filled him in along the way.

Slipping into the gym from the outside door, Hopper casually walked toward the girls locker room, trying not to draw attention to himself. He really didn't care if someone tried to stop him, he was going to find Joyce regardless, he just didn't want to deal with the hassle if it could be avoided.

Following the sound of Marissa's voice, Hopper moved around a set of lockers and his eyes instantly landed on Joyce who was cowering against a wall with her head down struggling to get the first button done on her flannel. A heat of anger crept up his neck when he saw how badly she was shaking and made his way over to her, ignoring Chrissy when she yelled at him to get out.

"Joyce?" Hopper called softly, wanting her to hear his voice before he reached out to place a hand over her trembling ones. When she lifted her head to meet his eyes, he cupped her cheek and brushed away a few stray tears, taking note of the way her chest was rising and falling. "It's ok sweetheart, just breathe." Thankfully she hadn't slipped into a full blown panic attack, because he wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle it correctly with the frustration he was currently feeling.

Joyce sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, shutting her eyes as blood started rushing to the tips of her ears and down her neck the more embarrassed she got. She hated that Hopper had to come to her rescue all the time because she couldn't act like a normal person and keep her shit together. The stress of the trial and the fact that Chrissy and Marissa had seen her scars had her a jumbled mess of emotions. Along with being overwhelmed at Lonnie, Karen and Benny actually defending her, it wasn't surprising her body had no idea what to do or how to feel.

"You want to go home?" Hopper asked, keeping his voice low as he gently moved her hands away from her shirt and started buttoning it up for her. They only had one more class for the day and it wouldn't make a difference if they skipped it.

Joyce gave him a nod and placed one of her hands on his hip, her fingers flexing against him when Chrissy started talking again.

"I know your girlfriends a psycho, but you can't be in here Jim. So get out. She's a big girl, she doesn't need you running in here like some white knight just because she can't handle the truth."

Hopper clenched his jaw and he continued helping Joyce with her shirt, not bothering to look in Chrissy's direction when he spoke. "You of all people should know she's more than capable of taking care of herself."

"So why are you here?" She asked, leaning against a locker before twisting a strand of long blonde hair between her fingers.

"Because everyone has a limit and you obviously don't know when to stop pushing. Give it a rest already. You don't have a clue what she's going through and she doesn't need you being a bitch to her for no reason on top of everything."

"And how do you know she didn't start all of this?" Chrissy asked.

Hopper rolled his eyes. "Because I've known Joyce my entire life and she's never been mean to any of you, and before you say it." He pointed at her. "You deserved the beating you got. That was, and still is, the only time she's ever done anything like that and it only happened because you provoked her."

"Then explain all of this…" Chrissy gestured with her hands toward Joyce's body. "She's obviously been pissing someone off, unless the two of you are into some weird freaky shit."

Hopper slung Joyce's bag over his shoulder and took her hand in his. "That's none of your business."

"Considering I thought I wanted to be with you, it might have been nice to know you're into hurting your girlfriends Jim." Marissa spoke up. "We all know this joke of a relationship between the two of you won't last, so it might be worth sharing with others your little secret so no one else gets hurt."

Hopper swallowed, trying to force back the rage he felt brewing in his chest at someone accusing him of hurting Joyce. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't? The evidence is right there."

"Hold on a second…" Chrissy interrupted, stepping beside Marissa. "I get it now. Old daddy Horowitz has been putting it to her." The shift in Joyce's features was all Chrissy needed to know she had hit the nail on the head. "So the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. Makes sense I suppose, you're both out of your fucking minds."

"Chrissy stop." Karen said suddenly, watching as Hopper had to wrap his arms around Joyce's middle to keep her from jumping on Chrissy. Something inside of Joyce burst at the mention of Travis and everything she was feeling on the inside was making its way to the surface. Anger, hurt, fear, all of it mixed together and she started sobbing while trying to claw her way out of Hopper's hold to take out the current source of the pain she was feeling.

Marissa and Chrissy just started laughing, getting a thrill out of the fact they had managed to dig under Joyce's skin so deep she was ready to tear out their throats. It just proved they were right about her being crazy, because in that moment she showed all the signs of someone who'd clearly lost it.

"What is wrong with you?" Karen asked, stepping directly in front of Chrissy and Marissa as Hopper tried to remove Joyce from the locker room. Even though her and Joyce were getting closer, and she was starting to come out of her shell, she hadn't told Karen much about her family or her past, and definitely not about the abuse she'd obviously suffered. Karen was slightly amazed Chrissy had been able to put two and two together considering she wasn't the brightest. It wasn't like Karen hadn't heard the rumors about Joyce's father, but this wasn't what she'd been expecting and it broke her heart to see her friend hurting. If her own boyfriend was having a hard time calming her down, Karen knew there wasn't much she could do to help, she could however try to put a stop to the torment Chrissy and Marissa were causing once and for all.

"What's wrong with me?" Chrissy said, poking Karen in the chest with a well manicured fingernail. "What's wrong with you? Pretending to be that freaks friend isn't going to suddenly give you a gold star in life, so drop the act."

Karen shoved Chrissy's finger away and ran a hand over her face. "Jim was right, you really don't have a clue what you're talking about."

Marissa decided to join in on the conversation then. "So that's why you're talking to Joyce? Hoping to get a little piece of Jim are we?"

"No Marissa, unlike you I don't mess with other peoples boyfriends." Karen was starting to lose her patience. The childish and petty stabs were getting old and she didn't have time to stand there all day and listen to them say the same things over and over.

"Sure as hell didn't stop Joyce."

"My God Chrissy let it go!" Karen snapped. "I don't know what the hell you're trying to gain by continuing to bully her, but it stops now. She's been through enough without you having to make it worse, so why keep being cruel?" Karen grabbed her coat and pulled it over her shoulders, wanting to go check on her friend. "I better not hear whispers in the halls or a single word from anyone about what you saw in here."

"Or what?" Marissa glared.

Karen smirked. "Or the entire school will find out about you giving a fifteen year old a blow job last month in the parking lot. Pretty sure your parents and the rest of the town don't condone eighteen year olds giving sexual favors to minors." She turned to face Chrissy then who was about to speak, cutting her off. "Don't get me started on you. My mom and your mom are still friends and I have more dirt on you and your family than anyone else in this shitty town."

Both Marissa and Chrissy stood speechless.

"Now that we're finally done here, leave Joyce the fuck alone." Karen said one last time before turning around and leaving the locker room. She didn't like having to be this type of person, it made her feel off balance considering how peaceful and calm she usually was about everything, but something had to be done or it would never end. She just hoped she'd gotten her point across.

As soon as the outside air hit Joyce's face she was pulling away from Hopper's grip, trying to shake the rest of the anxiety and frustration from her body as she continued to cry.

"FUCK!" She screamed and kicked a rock across the parking lot, making Hopper jump slightly. Not only was she tired of feeling completely useless as a human being, two people that she knew couldn't keep their mouths shut, now knew her darkest secret and it was only a matter of time before everyone else found out.

Joyce knew Hopper was only trying to help when he moved to stand beside her, but she was too upset at herself to allow the comforting touch he attempted to give. "Why do you put up with this?" She asked pathetically.

"Because I love you." Hopper kept his distance, knowing her body language all too well when she shifted at the first twitch of his hand moving toward her.

"I just want one day! One day in this hell where everything goes right for a change. Is that really too much to ask?" Joyce plopped herself down in the grass beside the pavement of the parking lot and pulled her legs forward, dropping her forehead to her knees with a hand on the back of her neck. "You deserve so much better than this Hop." She whispered, her voice muffled due to her face pressing into her jeans. "Maybe Benny was right...I did steal you from your friends. You should be out having fun with them like you used to instead of spending all of your time offering me a shoulder to cry on or trying to calm me down. I keep you stuck in bed days at a time because I'm too messed up and too tired to do anything, and its only going to get worse since I can't keep my own secret, a fucking secret!" Joyce lifted her head up toward the sky and shut her eyes, sucking in a deep breath as her fingers twisted in the grass beneath her and new tears covered her cheeks.

Hopper tossed Joyce's bag to the ground and sat down beside her with his legs crossed. "Do you really think I had more fun with them?"

"I know you did, you were never at home unless you were coming to the treehouse to be with me. You were always out at games, or swimming at the quarry, hell even just riding up and down main street with Benny, you were having fun Hop. You were living the life you were supposed to and then we kissed in the treehouse and everything shifted. I became the center of your attention. Me. The stupid trash of Hawkins stole all the happiness out of your life."

"Joyce stop, just stop." The tone in Hopper's voice made Joyce realize she had fucked up and she could practically feel the frustration rolling off of him. "Don't talk about yourself like that ever again, you hear me?" Hopper stared at her, rubbing his hands over his jeans.

Joyce gave a nod, not knowing what to say and they sat in silence for what felt like hours before Hopper stood from the ground and turned to face her, holding out his hand. She sighed and took it without hesitation and once she was on her feet, he pulled her to his chest, one hand pressed to the small of her back, the other tangled in her hair.

"Joyce, the entire time I was out doing stuff with everyone else, I was imagining doing it with you. How things would be if you were riding beside me up and down main street, how you would sit on my shoulders when we play chicken at the quarry. I wanted you to be with me the entire time I was out doing whatever. I can have that now. I want to spend every last second I can with you, no matter if we're just hanging out at the treehouse, studying in my room, or shoveling shit in the barn. You're the love of my life, please never forget how important you are to me."

Joyce hadn't realized she was crying until his thumb grazed her cheek, wiping away the tears that had fallen. She stood on her tiptoes and slowly kissed him, not knowing what their future held, but she knew as long as Jim was by her side, she could conquer whatever life threw at them.