Stranger Things: Rebuilding

Next chapter of my Stranger Things idea, enjoy.

Reviews

Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, oh yes indeed, especially with him clearly having some sort of plan in mind.
JaynetheFawn: Thanks, yes indeed, but who knows, there might be even bigger questions to come ;)
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Stranger Things or its characters.

Lonely Hearts

She probably wouldn't even be there, why would she be? She'd be avoiding him if she had any sense. Or at least, that's what Eric Gibson kept telling himself as he walked into the park, Physics textbook under his arm, glancing around hopefully, almost timidly.

'Then again if I had any sense I'd be avoiding her...what am I even doing?' He thought.

He couldn't believe he'd been reduced to this, he was a mess. Darting around the park, hoping to get even a glimpse of Jane Hopper. He paused as he stood with a perfect view of the chess tables. He looked them over, hoping for a glimpse of that by now familiar profile, but she wasn't there. He sighed heavily and then berated himself mentally for doing so, he was being ridiculous.

'What the hell is wrong with me, I already have a girlfriend after all...I swore that I'd forget Jane and focus on Jessica.' He reminded himself. 'I know Jessica and I love each other, we care about each other, she's beautiful, just…'

He groaned, he'd already told himself all of this and yet it never seemed to stick, always his mind was drawn back to Jane. Her quiet nature, the slight quirks she had, such as tilting her head to the side when confused. Then there was how she sometimes looked so distant and had a deep lingering sadness in her eyes. He recalled their meeting at the hospital, the angry bruises on her skin, the way she brushed them off and he felt his thoughts once more turning towards her in ways that he tried to not think about.

He shook his head, turning away from the chess tables. Normally when stressed, he'd seek out a game for a distraction, but as he had learned to his peril lately, playing while his mind was on Jane made his game suffer, greatly. He'd already lost to three people he'd usually put away in mere minutes before, and that was just the previous week.

He tried to put things in perspective. 'Why am I so worked up over this one girl. Especially after what happened here that time...those thugs knew her somehow, she's...she's clearly trouble, right…?'

Yet as much as he tried to convince himself of that, his mind always fell back on her being a target or an unfortunate victim. He knew then it was a lost cause, he just had to find some other way to deal with this. To get his life back on track, to focus his romantic energies on Jessica and to stop with this whole obsession he was developing with Jane.

'She's just a normal girl after all. I shouldn't be getting so worked up over one normal girl.' He told himself.

Moving towards a nearby bench he sat down and propped open his textbook. The lecturer had informed the whole class that they'd be having a test on Friday, maybe studying for it would also help him with overcoming this obsession, that was something to hope for.

XXXXX

El understood why the others were anxious.

"Guys, don't worry, I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" Mike asked, biting his lip. "I mean, last time we parted ways like this, you almost got shot."

"I know that, it was just last night after all." El countered. "Look, Troy is an idiot, but he's not completely stupid. He's not going to attack in broad daylight when there is people around...I'll just be passing through anyway, I'm not gonna stop if I can help it."

Max sighed. "Okay, maybe you're right, but still...Help us feel better, contact one of us the moment you get home and we'll tell the others, yeah?"

"Sure, I can do that."

With that the Party all went their separate ways as they began going home, El meanwhile was going to cut through the park. She had told them it was just to save time and she hadn't been lying. If she cut through the park she could make good time getting home and be out of any danger zones, places where she'd be alone without witnesses, before the sun had set. It would be after sundown after all that Troy would come after her. But if she was being truthful, that wasn't the only reason...she was also hoping to get a glimpse of Eric as she made her way through the park. So it was with trepidation that she found herself at the edge of the park, and slowly made her way inside.

She felt her heart thumping and tried to clear her oddly dry throat, only to stop in her tracks when she finally saw Eric, seated on one of the benches, reading a Physics textbook. She could only stare at him, noting his profile and she felt a fluttering in her stomach. All of a sudden she wasn't sure if she wanted to approach him or to hurry away. But before long the decision was made for her.

"Jane?"

He had seen her. She swallowed and smiled at him.

"Hi, um...hi Eric, how are you?" She replied, inwardly cringing at how bad that sounded.

"Good." He replied, seemingly not noticing. "Um, you?"

She smiled, praying it didn't come off as a grimace. "Fine, yeah, I'm good too."

She couldn't believe it, it was like just talking together required such complicated choreography and commitment.

"You uh...want to sit down?" He offered.

She was a little surprised by his words but then smiled and nodded. "Sure, thanks."

She walked over, feeling rather self-conscious, she began to wish she had chosen something a little more appealing than her overalls to wear that day. Still they sat down, as they did so their legs brushed together and they swiftly moved them to opposite sides of the bench. After sitting quietly for a while, the awkwardness was cloying. El tried to think of a way to break it, she glanced at him, couldn't move her gaze away.

At least not until he turned his gaze to her and saw her looking at him, slack jawed. She turned her gaze away then, but then glanced back. He smiled at her, open, sweet, real. She smiled back, praying it was just as real. But before either of them could say anything a nearby noise drew their attention. El flinched, noting the waning daylight. Was it Troy, had he found her. She looked and saw it wasn't him, but it stopped the encounter as drastically as a bullet anyway.

It was the girlfriend, Jessica.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.