Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Billy just couldn't let it go, could he? Goddamn saying he went from a king to a part of a circus act...not to mention that he shoved him and scored one for the skins team.
Jackass.
Steve got back up from the hard gym floor and panted, sweating through his clothes before Kali, wearing a white sweater, a tan skirt, socks, and flats, appeared right in the gymnasium because...well...
He looked and saw her there, being surprised. She gestured him to have him follow her. He thought that maybe she wanted to talk about...
...
Outside at the side of the gym building, Kali asked, "Did I...do anything weird last night?"
He gave her a puzzled look and replied, "What're you talking about?"
She sighed. "Listen, all I remember from Tina's party was going there, drinking...spilling the drink and going to the bathroom..." She shook her head. "Then my mum waking me up in my own bed this morning." She scoffed. "I never would've made it home."
He nodded. "Well, right, I drove you there because you passed out."
"Is that all what happened?"
Like an idiot without a filter, he replied, "No." He mentally cursed himself for saying that.
Now Kali was getting worried. "Then what happened?"
"Are people spreading rumors?"
She sighed again, looking at the ground. "Everyone's been giving me this weird stare this morning. It was like after..." She trailed off, not wanting to say the night they had sex while Barbara died in the Upside Down.
He figured what she was saying before telling her, "I'll find out if there're any rumors, okay? You just ignore any...I dunno, stares or remarks, alright?"
She will as well, it wasn't like she was going to sit there and do nothing. Still... "Okay, but really, what else happened before I passed out?" If she wanted to dispel these stupid rumors, if there are, she had to know.
He looked away from her, removing the towel from his neck and muttering almost inaudibly, "Damn it..." How was he going to explain her breakdown to her?
Now that mutter made her concerned. "What did you say?"
"Nothing."
She knew that was bullshit. "Steve-"
Suddenly, one of the shirts players came out, seeing them and yelling, "C'mon, Harrington! We need you, man! That douchebag is killing us!"
He faced him and yelled, "Alright!"
"Let's GO!"
He faced his girlfriend again and said kindly, "I'll figure out if there's any rumors, okay, Kal? We'll talk later." Before she could speak, he bent down and kissed her cheek before running back into the gym with his fellow shirts teammate. He was almost thankful that he didn't tell her about her breakdown now...but also a little guilty.
She looked at him go with an appalled look on her face. He treated her like she was a kid now. What the hell was that? Why couldn't he tell her about what she did last night?!
In the AV Club room, Dustin got out his handmade ghost trap and opened it up. All the kids, including Max who he invited after telling his friends to come, looked down into it and saw a small, green creature with a tail crawling around in it and making growly, squelching sounds, all of them curious about what the hell it was. "His name is d'Artagnan," the curly-haired boy stated as he scooped it up and looked at it like it was a cute pet. "Isn't he cute?"
Jane looked puzzled. "You named him d'Artagnan?" she asked him, confused about the name.
"Yeah, Dart for short."
Max looked a bit disgusted. "And he was in your trash?"
He looked up at her with lit-up eyes. "Scavenging for food. You wanna hold him?"
The red-haired girl immediately shook her head. "No, no-"
Despite her protests, he came to her and tried to hand Dart to her. "He doesn't bite."
"I don't want to-" Suddenly, now the creature was in her hands, causing her to tense up and look disgusted. "Oh my God, he's so slimy!" She then handed him to Lucas, who got the same reaction as her.
"Ugh, he feels like a living booger!" he exclaimed before handing him to Will now, getting the reaction the other two did.
"Oh my God, gross..." he muttered before finally handing him to Jane.
She did get that same reaction, exclaiming, "Ew!" However, she got used to holding him quickly, kept him on her hand, and looked closely at him. She never saw a creature like this before, neither did everyone else. "What IS this thing?"
"My question exactly," Dustin replied to her. None of the other kids felt reassured that he didn't know what Dart was...so why bring him here?
...
He placed a bunch of nonfictional library books on the table and said, "Okay, so at first, I thought he was some kind of polliwog."
Max looked confused. "Polliwog?"
"It's a fancy word for tadpole," Lucas replied to her.
"Which is the larval stage of a toad-"
She gestured him to stop. "I know what a tadpole is."
He grabbed one of the books and opened it up. "Alright, then you know that most tadpoles are aquatic, right?" He pointed at a specific page to everyone, especially Max. "Dart isn't though, he doesn't need water."
"Yeah, but not all polliwogs live in the water," Lucas stated. Dart continued to move around inside a circle of wires. Jane looked at him, thinking that...well, he was kinda cute for...whatever it was.
"True. There are two terrestrial polliwogs." He got another book and pointed to one specific page. "There's the Indirana semiplamata..." He went to another specific page, pointing at that. "And the Adenomera andreae." He looked up at everyone. "But, one lives in India and the other in South America. So how did one end up in my trash?"
"Maybe..." Max began, shrugging. "It escaped when some scientists brought it here?" Jane now saw that Dart's lower sides...were moving, making her have a weird look.
"Uh, guys, I think something's moving in him," she told everyone. They all focused on him, the curly-haired girl pulling the lamp down a little for a closer look. However, it screamed at that, everyone almost jumping back at it. The "polliwog" ran away from the light with its two legs to the edge of the table. Dustin gasped and caught him with his hand when he began to fall off the edge.
"Whoa, buddy..." he whispered to him, patting his head with his finger. "It's okay...it's okay..." He smiled at him. "I gotcha, little guy. I know you don't like that, but it's okay." Dart gave him a...coo(?), weirding everyone out. However, Will suddenly felt...cold and scared seeing him now.
Dustin looked up at everyone and continued, "There's the other thing. Reptiles are cold-blooded, ectothermic. They love heat, they love the sun, but Dart doesn't. He HATES it because it hurts him." That feeling Will had grew stronger. It doesn't like the heat...
"Soooo, if he's not a polliwog or a reptile..." the black-haired boy said in concern.
"Then I discovered a brand new species," Dustin replied to him, smiling and petting Dart. Well, he certainly didn't lack of proudness now, did he?
Will didn't like this though...he remembered on Christmas last year...he coughed something up...it felt like what Dart did, but inside his body...he realized what Dart could be in complete horror.
The bell rang and that made everyone scramble to get their stuff and go to class. Most of them, with the exception of Will at the second, got out of the room. He fell back behind everyone, the thought of Dart being the dangerous he coughed into the sink last year...no one should be near it...
During lunch, Kali and Steve usually would eat together in his car, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen...much to her frustration. She sighed and spotted Jonathan eating at his car, thinking she should eat with him instead. She walked and finally approached him, greeting, "Hey."
He looked at her and greeted back, "Hey."
"I couldn't find Steve anywhere, so can I eat lunch with you?"
He nodded. "Go ahead." She smiled at him and sat on the hood of the car with him, setting her lunch bag down. However, hearing that made him worry about what he was hearing today. "So, I'm sorry to ask this right off the bat, but..." He looked at her, being concerned. "Have you heard anything about...me? Or Steve or..."
He got what she was trying to ask, answering, "Yeah, I heard a rumor about you two." He took a bite of his P.B.J. and swallowed it.
That made her muscles tense up, but then she got the courage to ask, "What is it?"
He sighed, looking off at the distance. "People are saying that Steve..." He trailed off, not wanting to say it because it sounded awful.
"He...what?"
He had to let out, she had to know that he knew. "That he slept with you in the bathroom while you were still drunk."
Her eyes widened at that. "What?"
So she didn't know? That was actually surprising. "That's what I kept hearing from some people."
She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling so...sick hearing that. She looked at him again and asked, "You were in the party too, right?" He just nodded at her. "Is that true?"
The fact that she didn't know what happened in the bathroom surprised him again. She was drunk, but... "I don't know. I just saw you storm off to the bathroom and Steve was following you. Then after 10 minutes, he was carrying you away from the party and drove off with you, probably taking you back home." She took a bottle of juice she had, opened it up, and took a sip. That would explain why she woke up in her bed. Still... "Did Steve not tell you?"
She shook her head, his eyes enlarging. "No. When I asked, he just avoided it." That didn't sound at all to him.
"Why?"
She shrugged, looking scared. "I don't know." She sighed, shaking her head. "That can't be true. Steve isn't like that, not anymore." Jonathan had to agree. They both knew he wasn't the self-righteous douchebag he was since middle school.
"The people I heard the rumor from looked like douchebags anyway." He took a sip of his drink as she did with her juice.
Despite this, she was feeling...guilty for getting drunk in the first place. "God, I never drank before and I can't remember a thing."
Jonathan frowned. "Well, that's happens when you drink too much alcohol. It messes with your brain, your memory."
"I know that, but..." She shook her head. "I guess I just wanted to escape this...this feeling that I've been having. I just...hate pretending that everything is fine because I know it's not." He kept frowning, but he nodded in understanding. "I feel still feel guilty for last year...for having that argument with Barb before her death..." Her heart felt like it was dropping by the thought of it. "She didn't deserve it."
He felt bad for hearing that, wanting to cheer her up. "Listen, Kali. At least that thing is dead."
She nodded. "Yeah, but it didn't help. It's like I have this..."
He figured out what she was saying. "This heavy weight around your shoulders?" She frowned and nodded at him again. "Yeah...I've been feeling that too."
"But it's different. Will is alive, he came home."
"Right, he is and he did, but..." He shook his head. "He's not the same as he was before, y'know? I tried to be there for him, try to help him, but..." He sighed, shrugging a little. "I dunno. Maybe..." He looked her straight in the eye. "Maybe things can't go back to the way they were." As much as she hated to admit it, she knew he was right. Nothing could go back to the way it was...but...
"That makes me mad." She pointed at him for a bit. "Doesn't it make you mad?"
He looked a little perplexed. "Mad?"
"Yeah, doesn't it just make you mad that those bastards responsible for everything last year just get away with it? They get away with ruining peoples' lives and get off scot-free?"
He sighed again. "The bastards responsible for this are dead."
She shot him a glare. "Do you really believe that, Jonathan? Do you?" He made a thin line with his lips, not responding to that and looking away. As if Kali wasn't upset enough today, now she was thinking of-
A sudden blast of rock music caught both of their attention, seeing a guy with a walkman play it as he ate some Goldfish. That suddenly made an idea pop up in the Indian girl's head. After thinking about it...she might do it, but she needed help. "Your mum's boyfriend works at RadioShack, right?" she asked the auburn-haired guy, the two looking at each other.
"Yeah," he answered. "Why? What're you thinking?"
She looked at his car, then looked back at him. "Do you wanna skip fourth period?"
He would, but... "What about Steve?"
Steve...right now, he wasn't her first priority and...she didn't want to pull him into this. He's had enough. "I don't want him to be involved." That made him concerned. Why didn't she want him to be involved? What was her plan?
Getting out of the woods after such a long time, Mike heard a woman cooing, "Isn't this fun~?" He heard laughing from her and a little girl. He walked a little closer and saw a mother pushing her daughter up and down a swing set. They both seemed to be enjoying it. He continued looking at them, wanting to feel happy too...
One night, Hopper and Terry were reading this book to Mike in bed called "Anne of Green Gables" because it was the only book Terry had to offer. Hopper didn't mind it though. Terry read, "'I would feel so sad if I was a disappointment to her because she didn't live long after that, you see. She died of a fever when I was just three months old. I do wish she'd lived long enough for me to remember calling her mother. I think it would be sweet to call her mother.'"
That quote made the freckled boy think of something and ask them, "Do I have a mother?"
They both looked up at him, Hopper answering, "Yeah, of course you have a mother, bud. No one's born without one." The dirty-blonde-haired woman drew her lips into a line though.
"Then where is she?" The adults felt their blood run cold at that, looking at each other and exchanging glances. Through those glances, they both decided that Terry was going to tell him, so they both looked at him with solemn faces.
"She...she's gone," she told him. "She's not around anymore." The heartbreak seen on his face made them both feel terrible, Terry feeling that the most.
"She's gone?"
They both nodded. "Yeah...I'm sorry."
"We both are, kid," Hopper added. His eyes began to water, now looking like he was about to cry. Terry felt the most terrible again and gave him a warm hug.
"Hey, hey..." she whispered to him. "It's alright. It happens." He didn't hug back, but appreciated it anyway.
When she stopped hugging, she went back to Hopper and looked down at the book, continuing to read, "'And father died four days afterwards from fever too.'" The boy wiped the tears that came out away, feeling completely awful about his mother. "'That left me an orphan and folks were at their wits' end, so Mrs. Thomas said to me, 'What to do with me?' You see, no one wanted me even then. It seems to be my fate.'" Mike felt more awful that he could relate to what this "Anne" was saying...until he escaped, but...
He deeply sighed, looking at the leaf-littered ground. His mother...gone. He had Terry, but...she was not that good, if he were being honest to himself.
"Is your mom here?" he could faintly hear the woman ask.
Wait.
"Sweetie?" He looked at the woman holding her young daughter's hand, looking worried.
He needed to ask her the question. "Where is...school?"
"The school?" The mother pointed to her left. "It's just a mile that way." He looked that way and nodded before walking away. "Hey, wait!" He didn't reply, but stopped and looked back at her. "Where are your parents?"
He had no parents.
Finding her annoying, he looked at the swing and made it loop over the bar, making the daughter say, "Look, Mommy, look." When she did, he began to leave and got out of their sights. Just more time...and he'll find Jane.
When Terry and Hopper were done reading "Anne of Green Gables" to Mike and tucked him in, they both sat on the couch and began talking to each other. "So...I'm surprised you got this book," Hopper told her.
She scoffed and grinned, her mind forgetting about Mike's question for a moment, before answering, "Why? I loved that book when I was younger."
"You did?"
"I didn't always read what I need to study, if that's what you're asking." He chuckled. "I just found it in the library during middle school. I kept checking it out because I enjoyed reading it. I loved Anne, she reminded me of my sister."
The police chief chuckled again. "Won't argue with that, seeing how she is." So he did know why without any further implications. That was good.
"What about you?"
He sighed a little. "Well...I always read this to my daughter every night before she went to bed. She'd enjoy it." The smile she had disappeared, remembering what he had told her about his daughter one time while they were trying to lure out Michael. "Dunno if Mike does."
She shrugged. "Maybe he does. It's an enjoyable story, though it's not always sunshines and rainbows."
He nodded. "Right..."
She frowned at the solemn look on his face, shifting herself closer to him. "Hopper, I'm sorry about Sara." He didn't reply, but she kept going, "Nobody deserves to lose their child like that. I would know...I worked with people who'd kidnapped children and...some of them wouldn't make it." She deeply sighed, feeling a pang of guilt for even working with Brenner and Wheeler. "I'm sorry I keep bringing that up, but-"
He shook his head. "No, I get what you're trying to say." He gave her a sad yet reassuring smile. "Thanks." She smiled back at him, nodding a little. There were silence between them for a bit, the two staring into each other's eyes and feeling...something. Then he suddenly asked, "So how did you get married to Brenner in the first place?"
She scoffed again, looking away from him and shaking her head. "Oh my God...it's so stupid how I first thought of him," she answered.
Hopper looked really amused and asked, "Oh really?"
"You wouldn't believe." He raised an eyebrow at her, now making her want to tell the entire story. "In college, I was observed by a couple scientists from Hawkins Lab because they heard about me and my academic achievements. When I graduated, I was greeted by Martin and I thought..." She sighed again, grinning nervously and shaking her head. "I thought he was handsome." That caused Hopper to laugh. She got flustered and shushed him. "Mike's sleeping!" she whisper-shouted at him, pointing at the door.
"Right, sorry..." he whispered back before getting himself back together. "Go on."
She took a deep breath and continued, "He told me what the two other scientists told me and offered me a job there, then I took it. I worked there and whenever I got the chance, I would talk to him. He'd compliment my ability with talking to the subjects and say I did some good work. He had this..." It hurt her to say it, but... "He had this kindness to him and this charisma that I just couldn't resist." The man nodded, looking serious as she did. "One day, he...just proposed marriage to me. Like a love-struck idiot, I accepted and we got married half a year after. My parents liked him, but Becky always felt skeptical about him, for good reason as I realized later on. The more time we spent together, the less it felt like I was happy with him. That kindness he had rarely occurred and his charisma wore its effect on me with time. I felt like I was trapped because I wanted to be away from him, because he wasn't what I thought he was, but I didn't want to disappoint my parents, so I didn't suggest that we break off the marriage."
"Then you discovered what he and Wheeler were really doing."
She nodded. "Our relationship got worse when I discovered that. I finally told him that I wanted to quit and also a divorce. He arranged those and we met one night to discuss the promise. It's basically, if I keep quiet about what happens in the Labs, he, Wheeler, and the lab personnel would let me live a peaceful life with my daughters. I agreed to that and we finally separated."
The man frowned at that, asking, "How did you feel after?"
"I felt two things: relief and guilt. Relief because I was finally broken off of my marriage to him and my daughters wouldn't have to go through seeing us ignore each other or argue anymore. Guilt because I left many subjects behind..." She paused to look back at Mike's room. "Including Michael...and I had to keep silent about their suffering if I wanted to divorce and quit." She deeply sighed, leaning back against the couch and looking up at the ceiling. "At least Dr. Owens won't be doing shit like that anymore."
"Right." He wanted to cheer her up, so he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault. He's a calculating son of a bitch."
She scoffed once again, replying with, "He was. I don't think he ever loved me, I think he just wanted me to have Jane for..."
"The experiments."
She nodded again. "Yeah, damn him." She did spend some time around chemicals, so it was possible he thought Jane would be alright for experiments. "I'm glad he and Wheeler are dead."
"Me too, sons of bitches."
She smiled, feeling rather warm about talking to Hopper like this. She looked at him and stated, "I don't think I ever told anybody about my relationship with Martin like this, not even Becky or Joyce. You're one of a kind, Hopper."
He smiled at her. "Y'know, you can just call me Jim."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
He nodded. "Really."
She smiled at him. "Okay...Jim." To be honest with herself, he was...genuinely charming. It wasn't fake like Brenner's though...it was sincere. She never thought that would come a guy who was a complete playboy back in high school. It was a nice change. "What about you? You and your wife divorced after...Sara, didn't you?"
He frowned again, but answered, "Yeah. Diane and I weren't exactly coping with her death well, yelling and arguing every day, so we just ended it."
Now she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jim..."
He looked away from her for a bit. "Don't worry. It's all in the past anyway."
"But it affects you, I can tell. You have this carefree attitude, you used to live alone, you don't talk about yourself a lot..." She did mention to him that she majored in Psychology at one point, so he couldn't say her observation was bullshit. "You can't tell me that doesn't affect you anymore, Jim, because I know it does."
Damn, she was so much different from other women, being able to read him like that. He pretty much felt like shit since she called him out for his behavior, saying, "Sorry, I just..."
"No, it's okay. It's something personal. Most people don't freely share their personal experiences with others."
He smiled a little, looking back at her. "You know a lot."
She smiled back at him again. "Didn't I tell you I-"
"Majored in Psychology?"
"...yeah."
"Just saying." To be honest with himself, Terry was always a bit pretty, but she also got brains. A woman more intelligent than he'll ever be can be beautiful. She was also kind and easy-going even. He was surprised she was the same shy and nerdy girl he went to high school with.
Suddenly, he bluntly asked, "How come you never got a date?"
She blushed at the question, feeling like she was a teenager again as she nervously smiled at that. "What kind of question is that? After all we talked about, you ask me THAT?"
He chuckled again, knowing how stupid that question was. "Sorry, just wanted to lighten the mood."
Well...it was...kind of. It's a less depressing subject to talk about. "After him, I didn't want to be with anyone else for a while. Even so, I got my daughters and I got my...job. I was getting too busy to even think about being with anyone else."
He understood, but then stated, "No guy approached you and...asked the question?"
She shook her head, keeping her nervous smile. "No. A few guys did look at me like they wanted me, but I made sure it was clear to them that I wasn't interested."
He looked a little amused. "Oh, alright, 'cause I was gonna say, what guy would ignore the beauty you have?"
She gasped at that, looking at him with wide eyes and feeling her face heat up more. "Jim!" she exclaimed before he shushed her and pointed to Mike's room. She sighed and said, "Sorry." She felt her heart suddenly thump at that. "But Jesus Christ, have you NOT grown up?"
He grinned. "Whaaat? I'm just stating a fact."
Honestly, she thought her beauty was disappearing with age. It was the only reason why she got a job as a waitress in Hideaway. She decided to go back at him by saying, "You still don't look that bad either."
He was actually surprised that she said that. He personally didn't give a damn about how he looked, but to hear a woman, THIS woman in particular, compliment him about it... "Really?"
She nodded. "Even with the beard, you still look pretty handsome."
He felt himself blush like a girl he would spend the night with and said, "Well, thanks. Never thought you would find me handsome."
"It was only a passing thought back in high school."
"But it's not now."
She hated to admit it, but he was completely right.
They stopped talking and continued looking at each other...with strong feelings for one another. Slowly, they got closer to each other, leaned their faces close to each other...
And kissed each other.
Terry had never really kissed before, but despite Jim's facial hair...she liked his kiss. It was no wonder girls liked him back then. Jim, while being no stranger to kissing, felt different this time. He'd usually kiss a girl out of obligation or to initiate foreplay. This...was this how it felt like to kiss out of...love?
The dirty-blonde-haired woman had kissed him again, putting on her hand on his cheek and feeling his beard. He kissed her back as he began to lean himself towards her. However, she suddenly broke the kiss, stopping him from advancing. "Jim?"
"Yeah?" he replied casually.
She broke the kiss because...she thought of something. "I don't know about this...about us."
His lips got thin, but he understood, straightening up and allowing her some space. "Sorry."
She shook her head. "Don't be. I just..." She took a deep breath.
"You wanna think about it?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Is that..."
He shook his head. "I understand. Take your time. There's no rush."
"Are you sure?" He nodded at her, making her nod back. She was glad he was understanding.
She looked back at the clock and saw that it was close to midnight, making her stand up and walk to get her things. "Well, I'll be going. I'll see you and Mike tomorrow...Jim."
He gave her a warm smile, saying, "I'll be waiting until then." She smiled back at him and left. When she did, Jim released a sigh and got up to grab the blanket and pillow he uses to sleep on the couch. After getting closer and fonder of Terry, he guessed he just couldn't hold back anymore. She probably felt the same since they kissed. Still, it was sudden and Terry had a right to think it over for as long as she liked. He hoped it wasn't TOO long though...
As she got into her car and drove away, she reminisced about that moment. She couldn't really believe what happened. She and Jim just kissed! God, was she feeling young again, but she never kissed before, so that reaction was probably inevitable. She had grown more closer to him...and more fond. That moment was just a...a release of her growing feelings. She would actually be with Jim...but there was their situation: taking care of Michael and keeping him a secret from everyone they know...including Jane. That was why she needed time to think about them over. Because when-no, IF they got found out by someone close to either of them...
The dirty-blonde-haired woman shot her eyes open, shocked that she dreamed of that memory. Since it was brought up recently, she guessed it was unavoida-
She suddenly spotted that the curtains were left open, much to her shock. She didn't leave those open, did she? She got off of the couch and went to the window, closing the blind and the curtains. She decided to look at the locks on the door, just to be safe, and did so...seeing that they were all unlocked. She gasped at that because she KNEW she locked it. Could this mean...?
She looked back, calling out, "Mike?" There was no answer, as expected since there was the incident at breakfast. She walked to his room, shouting, "Michael?" She opened the door...and didn't see him there. Her jaw dropped. So she was right...
He got out while she slept.
She slammed the door shut, muttering, "Damn it!" Now she felt awful for taking a nap because that made the perfect escape for him. She stormed out of the cabin with her coat, closing the door behind her and grabbing the keys out of the pocket of her coat. She slipped on her coat and got into her car, starting the engine. When it did, she began thinking of where he could be. If he wanted to escape, it would be because of Jane, she knew it...
Jane was at school right now.
That was a big red target for the Lab.
"Shit!" She finally did a three-point turn and drove out of the woods to go to the school and stop him before anyone could see him.
Stopping right here. Poor Terry...how's this chapter though? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?
Yeah, Steve's not going to join Kali and Jonathan on their own little plot to completely avenge Barb because his bond with Dustin isn't something I wanna break for this story...sorry! But some small things will be different.
So...now you guys know what that "night" Hopper and Terry kept thinking is now. Should they or should they not be an item...? I mean, since Terry knew about Mike's feelings towards her own daughter...
Anyways, review, follow, favorite, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!