Chapter 5: The Unexpected Act

JIM Hopper had no clue how to deal with one but with two teenage girls living under his roof. Both of which possessing supernatural abilities and one suffering from amnesia.

Thinking that Eleven was in the comfort of the cabin, and Jean in the school's library yet again, Hopper went on his lunch break with his mind at ease- well, as eased as it could get with the given situation.

He didn't usually leave the office at this time, only on occasions visiting Joyce and like today, going out to eat at Benny's. The place was previously owned by his deceased friend Benny Hammond -may he rest in peace- and now it was under new management.

He was...flabbergasted to see Jean at the diner, and not alone. She was sitting nice and cozy with a blonde guy who donned a mullet. Despite his muscled up body, Hopper knew with one look that he was a high school kid.

When he had approached the two, Jean looked slightly taken aback to see him, while the guy just smirked smugly at him. That kid was definitely not a company a father wanted his daughter to keep. But unlike Eleven, she wasn't his daughter. Sure she was a sweet kid, but he knew almost to nothing about her except for her name and the fact that she was 'gifted' -in her defense neither did she.

So when Jim asked her if she needed a ride home, he did do so as politely as he could, unknowing of the boundaries and amount of dominance he was supposed to assert on the girl. And to his mild surprise, she grinned brightly and scampered out of her seat to follow him, grateful to see him. It was the exact opposite reaction he got from Eleven whenever he barged in on her and Mike; the fourteen year old would groan, roll her eyes at him and at sometimes even use her powers in response to his yelling.

Jim had to resist with every fiber of his being from sending a taunting smirk towards that mullet kid.

He failed.

The car ride back home was silent for the two, Hopper wondering who that boy was, but clueless as to how he could ask .

"It wasn't a date, he just offered me a ride home." Jean blurted out of nowhere.

Somewhat relieved, Jim's grip on the steering wheel was loosening a bit ad he gazed on the road. "I didn't ask."

"Yeah, but you were thinking it." Jean said, smugness fluttering in het tone.

Scratch that. She was just like El.

It was yet another day that Jean spent in the library.

She wanted, nay, needed to understand her powers, to find answers to the questions that even Eleven didn't know the answers to. She believed that if she were to comprehend what she was, and how to control her abilities, it would be the key to unlocking her memories.

So she read all the documented articles of research regarding the study of alleged psychic phenomena; extrasensory perception, as in telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, a.k.a. telekinesis, and psychometry, and other paranormal claims. They proved to be quite useful, informing her of the endless capabilities that the human mind could be able to accomplish. She just needed to understand how to go about tuning out the noise in the back of her head, the whispers that proved to be what others were thinking. If El hadn't informed her that this was possible, the redhead would've assumed that the voices were coming from her own mind, and that she was insane.

"Hey." Out of nowhere, someone abruptly sat across from her on the table, the wooden surface bustling at the movement. Jean's heart jolted in her chest before she even looked up from her page. Her green eyes narrowed to find out it was non other than Steve Harrington.

"What are you doing here?" Jean's underlying tone was somewhat hostile, and he did not blame her.

"Dustin told me you were here." Was his answer. He stated it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jean's eyebrows furrowed at him.

"You two have a weird bond."

"Well, duh, he's my main guy." He humorously replied, but was speaking the truth. In the attempt to catch Dart, the lizard from hell, Steve and Dustin had formed an unlikely strong friendship that seemed to only grow with time.

A soft rumble of laughter vibrated through her chest, and the boy chuckled, as well. He was starting to feel relieved to find that she wasn't as angry with him as he first perceived.

One of the library dwellers sent the two a glare for disrupting the quiet environment, shushing them as he did.

"Oh, shit." Steve muttered, averting his gaze and looking down at the table, slightly ashamed. 'Sorry', he mouthed after he glanced up again.

Once the fluffy haired boy saw the curiosity re-emerging on Jean's face, he quickly began to explain the reason for his appearance. "I came to-um," He felt weirdly nervous under her gaze, with her translucent green eyes on him. "I came to apologize for what I said."

The red haired girl's smile became strained until it completely faded, recalling the incident. "You don't have to, I mean you were right." She had been upset with what he said because it had hit so close to home. Her amnesia and telepathy and god knows what else all helped in her categorization as a 'freak' per Steve's words.

The Harrington boy's large brown eyes widened even further, he vigorously shook his head, regretting what he'd said the other day even more. She was only trying to make him feel better at the time and he snapped at her, taking out all of his frustration on the poor girl.

"What? No!" His words of denial were loud enough for him to get shushed again, but this time by the librarian, Melissa.

"No, no, I wasn't, okay? I was angry and I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry." He said, now in a low voice in consideration to the people around them.

Maybe he wasn't an asshole, after all, Jean thought. Steve was just hurting at the time and just used the wrong outlet, but he regretted it now.

Relief draped over Steve like a cold breeze on a hot summers day, his remorseful look slowly dissipating as he gazed at the smiling of facet of the girl. He had to admit, there was something entrancing about the way her eyes crinkled as she grinned at him.

"Well, I'm sorry, too. It was presumptuous of me to say what I said. I didn't mean to read your thoughts because I can't control it just yet, but I'll try my best to get out of your head." She said. Jean felt she was partially at fault, it was an invasion of his privacy, even if she didn't mean to.

"No, no, no. Look, I was super sensitive about it. I just-" He paused, the negative feelings creeping up on him. It was a harsh lesson he'd learnt for free; no one was entitled to anything. As a rich popular guy who had everything pretty much handed to him -being unable to get into any school he applied to- that was a very hard pill to swallow.

"I didn't actually tell anyone. Like my parents are the only ones who know - as disappointed as they are.." He was rambling, and he didn't know what he was saying to a girl he'd just met.

Perhaps it was that she'd already delved into his mind and saw what he was most ashamed of. Steve was sure that he'd have no confidence to tell anyone. Even if he was still dating Nancy, he was sure he'd be too scared to tell her in fear that she'd think less of him.

To be honest, it was a relief; to finally talk about a topic he'd been bottling up for a so long.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if that's what you're worried about." She softly said, and saw how his dark eyes widened slightly, indicating to her that she'd missed his point.

"That's not what I meant-" He sighed dejectedly. "I, y'know I just- I don't know what to do with myself now. I'm clueless."

After saying so, he regretted it. Steve cursed himself for dumping his baggage on the girl. The soon to be high-school graduate was expecting her to just stare at him, or nod awkwardly and pretend he didn't say anything. Even make a snarky comment, perhaps, he didn't know.

What would you do if a stranger (who'd insulted you once) started complaining about their future- or lack thereof- to you?

"It's okay." Unconsciously, Jean raised one of her hands and placed it on top of Steve's, which was on the wooden surface of the table. Her touch was comfortable and warm. "I'm sure everyone feels this way at some point in their lives." Jean soothed with a shimmer of hope in her eyes. She related with him, certainly feeling the same way at this very moment. Being amnesic, not having a clue where to go from there, it was all too much for her to handle.

But she'd made a decision to try and exert her best to remember; to understand what she was capable of, what her limitations were. And Jean was sure, she hoped that she would someday. And even if she couldn't -god forbid- she wanted to at least be able to function normally in society.

No one thought of it, but it was rather ironic. Jean was the one who suffered from a far more intense predicament at hand, and she was consoling him.

"You'll have plenty of opportunities to redeem yourself. You can end up getting even more motivated from the rejection, y'know." Jean's words were breezy, her voice calm.

Steve didn't know if was it the gentle touch or her voice, but he felt the anxiety leaving him, like poison being drained. He smiled at her, content to just feel her skin for a minute.

"In fact," Jean started, taking her hand away from his, and he immediately missed the contact. She rummaged through the mess of the books splayed on the desk and smiled in content when she'd found what she was looking for. "Here, read this. It's my favorite." It was a book that housed a quote by Calvin Coolidge.

Steve moved from his spot, he took the book from the redhead and unraveled the page she'd marked. Steve's fingers smoothed out the surface of the paper, his brown irises skimmed the words quickly. Jean noticed he was reading it over a couple of times because of his lips, which moved softly as he silently read the written words.

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

"Wow." That was all he could say.

Once the brown haired boy was done sweeping the words with his eyes, he looked up from the small book that he had in his hands, which he reached out to Jean, indicating that he was done reading it.

The red-haired girl took it between her slender fingers, gently brushing Steve's and closed it.

"That uhh, that was actually pretty helpful. Thanks." Steve exclaimed, grateful towards the girl who somehow managed to lift his spirits in no time.

Jean nodded, delighted that she could make him feel a bit better. "Anytime." She stated, sending Steve a dazzling smile.

A comfortable silence instilled between the two, much to the library's attendees delight. After staring at Jean for a while, Steve gulped nervously.

A short stutter left Steve before he spoke correctly. "D-Do you.. I don't know uhh- Wanna grab a cup of coffee or something?" He asked, his voice a bit out of tune. It's been a really really really long time since he asked a girl out. Heck, Steve barely hung out with anyone his age anymore.

Jean appreciated the offer, she truly did, but as her green eyes glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall across from her, she realized it was about time to head back home.

Home. She didn't know if it was okay to call the cabin that. In only a matter of two weeks, she and El had gotten incredibly close to each other, the girls spending most of their days and nights talking and laughing. Eleven felt like a little sister to her. Even Hopper, as gruff and emotionally reserved as he was at first, grew to be highly sympathetic and responsible for her. And Jean, dare she say it, regarded him as a father figure.

"Sorry, I can't right now."

"Oh..." Steve muttered in disappointment, a dejected look on his face.

It was no news that the previous ladies man, cocky Hair-ington was long gone. And now even though it wasn't an actual date or anything, he had difficulty asking her out. After his falling out with Nancy, failing to to get into college, oh and having fought interdimensional monsters with a group of kids, Steve became a shadow of what he once was.

So, he wasn't surprised when this sweet, beautiful girl outflat rejected him.

However, what she'd said next managed to brighten his day.

"But maybe some other time."

Grinning widely, Steve nodded. "Oh, yeah, yeah. Sure." He exclaimed, trying (and failing) to sound as cool as possible and to mask his enthusiasm.

Getting up from the chair and grabbing her stuff, Jean smiled, giving him a small wave. "I'll see you around."

"Yeah, okay..." Steve nodded, watching her walk away. He was in such a daze that he practically yelled, "Bye!"

After getting shushed for the third time, Steve rolled his eyes before running a hand through his perfect brown hair.