Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
In the late afternoon, the door to the Ives home opened, Becky being the first one to walk in. Her hair was still short like before, but in a ponytail now. She wore a sleeveless white and orange shirt, denim jeans, socks, and white sneakers. She had her daughter, Tina, in her arms. She wore a pink and white onesie with a sewn-in flower on the front. She took mostly from her mother, but had her father's blue eyes. Her dirty-blonde hair had a pink bow on top of it. Carl came in after, his dark hair in a more corporate cut. He wore a white collared shirt, gray slacks, and black shoes.
"Terry~, we're here~!" Becky sang. There was no answer as Carl placed the luggage in the living room and went out to get the rest. Becky looked curious and asked, "Terry?" Still no answer.
"Is she here?" Carl asked, bringing in the luggage for Tina.
She shook her head. "She hasn't answered." Her husband stood next to her, placing Tina's luggage with their own. "I'm guessing she's out shoppin'."
He nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Probably. Let's get settled in." She nodded back before Carl went out to get Tina's booster chair.
The baby girl made some cooing sounds, making her mother smile and stroke her small hand. "Yes~, this is your auntie's home~," she said to her in a singsong voice. "Yes, it is big~." She knew her little girl knew nothing, but it was still fun to play with and talk to her the way she did, just like she did with Jane when she was just a baby.
As she got into the kitchen, she noticed the magnets and papers on the floor. "Oh, well then," she said to herself, holding Tina with one arm before picking up the magnets and papers they probably were hanging up. When she was finishing, she saw that Terry's schedule was on the floor as well. She looked at this day, which was Saturday. She saw that she planned to be at the pool until 6. She grinned. "Well, decided to go out and have fun by yourself, huh?"
"Becky!" called out her husband from the living room.
She looked back at him and replied, "Coming!" She put the schedule up and stood up, holding her daughter with both of her arms again.
"You have kids?" Dave asked Terry. The four of them were out of the pool and sitting at a shaded table, draped with towels. Terry had her bag near her.
"Yeah," she answered, nodding. "One adopted, the other my own. Both are girls."
"Wow. I don't even like kids."
"Honestly, me neither," Stacey added, drinking the beer she hid in a Coke can. "That's why I'm not married."
Terry's face dropped before Andrew looked at his two friends disapprovingly. "Come on, guys. Show a little respect." They both looked apologetic, shrugging.
She smiled at him and said, "Thanks."
"You're single though?" Dave asked.
She nodded. "Yes, ever since my biological daughter was 2."
"How old is she now?" Andrew asked.
"14."
"Damn," Stacey said in surprise. "I didn't know you were single for THAT long!" Terry laughed at that statement.
Andrew looked at her. "Time flies, you know? One minute, you're in school, trying to pass..."
"Then the next, you're at home, trying to take care of two kids, wondering where the time went," Terry finished for him.
He grinned at her. "For me, it's the fact that I suddenly got long hair and a van to sleep in, so yeah, time went pretty quick for me." Then the two laughed.
Stacey and Dave looked at the two of them with grins on their faces. "Well, maybe you won't be single for long..." Stacey said in a subtle mischievous tone.
The two looked a bit puzzled before the long-haired guy rolled his eyes. "Stace-"
"Maybe the right man is right next to you all along," Dave said in an obvious mischievous voice, wagging his eyebrows.
She gasped and blushed a little, looking at Andrew for a second before looking back at the two other adults. "No, no, we JUST met," she answered, the two raising their eyebrows. "After a long time," she corrected herself.
"Yeah, just because we get along doesn't mean we'll get together," Andrew added, looking annoyed while grinning. "Otherwise, Stacey and I would've gotten together at some point." The woman mentioned rolled her eyes and continued drinking her hidden beer.
Dave laughed. "Yeah, true. That'd be weird." Andrew nodded and threw his hand up at him, showcasing that it was the point.
Stacey began eyeing Billy for a bit, then put down her can. "I'll be right back," she told everyone as she stood up. "Protect my drink." She then walked to Billy, Dave sighing.
"I swear, she's always trying with that kid," Dave muttered.
"Oh really?" Andrew asked, making Terry curious.
"Yeah, she always comes to talk to him whenever he's alone. She's not the only one though." He moved his head towards the women Terry saw him flirt with, still staring at him. "He's the flirt of the pool, I tell ya."
The long-haired man shrugged. "He looks like it." He noticed that Terry hasn't said anything, so he looked at her and asked, "Right, Terry?"
She sighed. "He's actually the stepbrother of one of my young daughter's friends."
Both men looked both amused and surprised to hear that. "No way," Dave said.
She nodded. "I don't know him that well, but he never struck right with me."
"I don't blame you," Andrew said, eyeing Billy as he said something to make Stacey laugh. "He looks like trouble."
"And that's Stacey's type, apparently," Dave chimed in, shrugging.
Terry decided to look at the sun, seeing that it was setting. She gasped and stood up. "Oh my God."
The two men looked curious. "What?" they both asked.
"I should be getting home now. I need to fix my daughters some dinner."
They nodded in understanding, but before she left, Andrew said, "Hey." She stopped and turned to him. "I'm visiting these guys, so I'm gonna be in this town for the next week. It was nice talking to you again."
She smiled at him and replied, "I feel the same. I'll see you around!" With that, she left.
Andrew was still as great as he was back when she was working her "night shift". His friends seemed...interesting, Stacey a little more..."interesting". But still, she never expected to see him again after quitting her "night shift". It was really great that she got to talk to him again. And he'll still be here for the next week, so...
Hawkins Post was mostly empty, save for Kali and Jonathan. With cleaning gloves on, she threw the wrappers and leftovers the men left in the garbage can, mumbling curses about them. Jonathan was still around so that he could drop her off at her home. He was worried about her acting like this, so he said, "Kali, calm down."
"I'm not kicking the chairs, am I?" she retorted.
"No, but-"
"Then I'm calm." She then aggressively threw a wrapper in the trash.
He scoffed. "Mumbling and throwing the trash like that isn't what a calm person would do."
She stopped throwing the trash away and glared at him. "Oh, I'm sorry for being treated like shit."
He looked at her worriedly. "You know that's not what I meant." She sighed and continued throwing the wrappers away. "They'll like you-"
She scoffed. "They already like me as their little slave that they can order around and deliver food and clean up their shit-"
"Kal-"
"-so, instead of treating me like an actual human being, I'm their willing Indian servant."
"Kali-"
"But they like YOU-" She paused to point at him. "-well enough, so that's all fine and dandy for you!"
"KALI!" She looked at him sharply, not throwing away the trash again. "Listen, I know they're set in their ways-"
"Their racist, misogynistic ways."
He sighed. "But once they see that you're a gifted writer, they'll come around. You just have to be patient."
Maybe...maybe they would. But maybe Jonathan should stop telling her that every time she vents out to him. "Well, my patience is wearing thin, Jonathan." He looked defeated as she threw a half-eaten sandwich on a wrapper into the trash. What else could he say to her to make her calm down?
Suddenly, the phone began to ring, the two looking at it. It continued ringing, making Kali think of something. She put down the trash can and removed her gloves, throwing them in there. Jonathan looked concerned. "Kal, what are you doing?" She ignored him and walked to the phone, making him follow in concern. "Wait, Kal-"
She picked up and greeted, "Hawkins Post, how may I help you?" He shook his head and looked away, wandering around. She heard an old woman talk about something that made her eyes widen. "I'm sorry, hold on." She then grabbed the nearest notepad and pen, clicking it. The auburn-haired guy looked at her curiously. "What did you say your name was again?" When the woman answered, she wrote down:
Doris Driscoll
Jonathan began to walk to his friend as she asked, "What's your address?" She then wrote:
4819 Cornwallis Road
"What the hell are you doing, Kal?" he whispered to her.
"And...you said something about rats?" she asked Doris, ignoring him. The woman spoke, then finally, she wrote down:
Rats...with Disease?
The two looked shocked at that. What the hell could that mean...? Kali continued listening to what Doris had to say.
The radio in Mike's room began playing "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon. While it was playing, Jane and Mike were constantly kissing. She pulled him close, then cupped his face with both of her hands as he wrapped his arms around her back.
...
While that was happening, Hopper was reciting the heart-to-heart he finally made for Mike. He was smoking while doing it. "'...which is why Terry and I talked and think it's important to set some boundaries...'" He paused, trying to remember what comes next. "'...moving forward, so we can create an environment where...'" He paused again. "'...we all feel comfortable and trusted and open...'" He forgot the rest, him muttering, "Shit." He looked at the heart-to-heart on the piece of paper. "'...to sharing our feelings.'"
He sighed heavily. To be honest with himself, he felt very nervous about having this "heart-to-heart" with Mike. Yeah, Terry's gonna do the same with Jane, but it didn't alleviate anything. He just needed to stay calm and go through with this...but how could he? Smoking wasn't working.
He looked at his alarm clock, seeing that it was ten minutes before 7. He got up immediately. "Shit!" He went to the curtains to his bedroom and opened them up. He smoked one last time before throwing the cigarette in the trash. He took a deep breath before getting near the doorway to Mike's room. He folded and put the speech into the pocket of his policeman shirt before knocking the on the door. "Hey, kids?"
"Yeah?" they both answered as he heard them move around on the boy's bed.
He sighed and stated, "I need to take Jane home."
...
Inside, Jane sat criss-crossed on the middle of the bed while Mike sat up against the wall, the two looking puzzled. "Why?" asked the girl in question.
...
"Your, uh...your mom called."
...
The two lovebirds continued to look puzzled as they looked at each other. "Did you hear the phone?"
The freckled boy shook his head. "No."
She grinned and whispered to him, "Maybe he's just grumpy about us having fun and not him." That made him snicker.
...
Jim didn't have the patience for another answer, so he just stormed into the room, making the two tense up. He sighed deeply and looked at the girl. "Let's go, Jane, your mom needs you." He began to leave, but didn't hear the tomboy follow suit. He turned to her sternly and said a little louder, "Let's...GO!" Looking nervous, she got off of the bed and waved to Mike.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning!" she said to him.
He waved back and replied, "Tomorrow morning!"
Hopper shook his head as he went out the door. "That's not gonna happen," he muttered under his breath.
Jane went out with him and closed the door, confused. "Wait, what?" He didn't answer her and continued walking to his car. "What did you say?" He still didn't answer. She looked pretty annoyed, throwing her arms up. "Hopper, come on! Does Mama really need me? Or-"
The two of them got to his car as he finally answered, "What do you think, kid?" She glared at him before remembering the conversation her mother had with him on the phone, her eyes widened. They both then got into the car and buckled up.
"What did you guys talk about...?" He started the car and began to drive away. "Me and Mike?"
"Yeah," he finally answered, again, getting out of the woods and into the road. "You heard her over the phone this morning, didn't ya?"
She actually looked pretty nervous, nodding a little. "Yeah..."
"Then you know what's gonna happen."
She looked a little puzzled and concerned. "But I don't." He merely scoffed at that, feeling annoyed and making her sigh. "Come on, tell me what's going to happen."
"Ask your mom that, not me-"
"But Mama talked to you, right? Couldn't you tell me what she-"
And that was the moment Jim blew his fuse by yelling, "WILL YOU BE QUIET FOR FIVE MINUTES?!" She looked pretty scared and tense now, her fists balled tight. He sighed once more and shook his head. "We're just gonna do something about you and Mike, okay? This...THING you two are having is WRONG and we're just gonna do something about it, okay?" She gulped. He looked annoyed that she didn't respond, so he asked loudly, "O-KAY?" She nodded her head quickly, intimidated by Jim. Nothing more was said on the way home.
In her and Dave's home, Stacey was in the bathroom, looking fresh out of the shower with her wet hair and towel wrapped around her body. She was drying her hair with the blowdryer, her makeup kit lying near the faucet of the sink. On top of the closed laundry bin was a bright red, short-sleeved dress. She had just gotten herself a..."private swimming lesson" with the young and hot Billy Hargrove. She honestly felt a little nervous, but she thought that once they were there at Motel 6, it will all go away.
...
While she was getting ready, Andrew and Dave were sitting on a couch and watching the news, seeing that NASA has launched another satellite into orbit. "We're doing well in the space business, aren't we?" the long-haired man said to his friend.
"Yeah, I'm sure we're kicking the commies' asses," he replied, the two laughing afterwards.
After a bit, Andrew looked at the hallway to the bathroom and asked, "You know when Stacey's coming outta there?"
He shrugged. "She always takes long to prepare for a date. All women do."
"No, they don't." Dave gave him a suspicious look, making him nervously laugh. "Not saying that I've dated around a lot..."
He merely nodded at his friend. "Uh-huh..."
Andrew shook his head and looked at the TV. "But all women are different, just like all of us men."
"Well, I wish Stacey wasn't like every other woman." He chuckled, then Andrew gave him a raised eyebrow in disapproval. He sighed and sunk back in his chair. "Dude, I'm just joking around."
He nodded. "I know, you're just not a good comedian." Dave flipped him off, making him laugh.
"And speaking of women..." The dirty-blonde-haired guy grinned and leaned a little towards his friend. "Terry."
Andrew looked a bit suspicious. "Yeah, what about her?"
"She seems nice."
He nodded, smiling. "Oh, she still is."
Dave raised his eyebrows. "You said that rather dreamily."
Andrew scoffed and shook his head at him. "I'm just saying, she was as nice as she was back when we had our former job."
Dave mischievously grinned. "You told me she was cute."
He glared at him, blushing just a little. "Once, Dave, once."
"Once is enough, man." He pointed a wagging finger at him. "And you didn't deny it, so..."
The long-haired man sighed and leaned back against the couch. "Okay, so what if I still find her cute? So what if I still like her? What of it?"
His friend looked like he was joking. "You could ask her out, Andrew. You two get along well enough."
He looked at him with narrow eyes. "It's been less than a day, Dave."
He held his hands up. "I'm not saying you should take her out on a DATE or anything." He put his hands down and looked at him once again. "Just ask her to go somewhere at some time and you two can talk. That's all." A day-out with her, huh? It didn't sound like a bad idea, but...
"What if she denies it? What if she's busy?"
He shrugged. "You got the rest of the week." He was rebut that, but he was right. He did get the rest of the week...even so...
"I don't wanna seem pushy, dude."
He raised his hands up again. "If you don't wanna give you and her a shot, that's your choice, man." He relaxed back into the chair, watching a commercial for a store. "I just think you deserve to have one more friend than just me and Stacey." Andrew's light-hearted face dropped. "And you should let loose a lot more often."
The long-haired man just sighed and continued watching TV with his friend. He did like Terry and he'd like to get to know her a little better. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask her out-to talk like friends, that is. He didn't want to jump from friendship to relationship after less than a damn day. It'll be another way to loosen up more due to...a big unfortunate instance in his life. Hanging out with Dave and Stacey was just one way of loosening up. Maybe hanging out with Terry would help him a lot more.
As they continued watching TV, Stacey got out. She was dressed in her bright red dress, had her purse slung around her shoulder, had a face full of makeup, and had her curly hair fluffed out, looking well-kept. The guys raised their eyebrows at the sight of her. "You're gonna knock 'em dead, Stace," Dave said.
"Yeah, you look great," Andrew added.
She smiled at the both of them and replied, "Thanks." As she began to exit, she turned to the guys and said, "Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone."
"Don't get into any trouble with your date," Andrew retorted. She laughed ironically before finally leaving the home. "I hope that kid treats her well."
"We'll know what to do if he doesn't," Dave said.
He nodded. "Yeah."
"You made new friends at the pool?" Becky asked Terry. The two were in the bathroom, Terry drying her hair with a blow-dryer while wearing her night gown.
"Yeah," she answered. "One of them's a coworker from the Gap, another a..." She nearly said "Ex-coworker", but she knew she couldn't drop that. "...an old patron from Hideaway..." Becky nodded in interest. "And the last one's a friend of that patron."
She smiled. "Aaaah, so you've caught up with old friends."
"You could say that." She turned off the blow-dryer and set it on the hanging basket near the sink, fixing up her hair with her fingers.
"They got names, right?"
Terry laughed. "Stacey, Andrew, and Dave."
"The coworker, ex-patron, and his buddy."
She nodded. "Correct."
She smiled at her again. "Well, I'm glad you're breaking outta your shell, Terry. I mean, your only friends shouldn't be just me and Joyce." They both laughed together.
"You guys are STILL my friends!"
"Didn't saw we weren't!"
She sighed and continued smiling, looking straight at her sister. "But I had fun and they were great people, especially Andrew." Becky got a mischievous grin on her face, raising an eyebrow. Terry knew that look and scoffed. "No, Becky." She then began to leave the bathroom, her sister following.
"C'moooon..."
"You were wrong about Jim-"
"Which was one guy."
She stopped at the top of the stairwell and turned to her. "We haven't seen each other for nearly two years, Becky. If you think I would instantly fall in love with a guy I HAVEN'T SEEN in nearly TWO YEARS like I'm in some cheesy romance movie-"
The short-haired woman held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win."
The long-haired woman sighed in relief. "Thank you." And just in the nick of time, the doorbell rung, the two women looking down at the door. "I think that's them." She descended down the stairs to get the door.
Becky did the same. "Jane and Jim?"
"Yeah."
She nodded and got down the stairs with her. Terry had told her while she was drying her hair that she was going to talk to Jane about her boyfriend, Mike, who was Jim's kid, much to her surprise. She went to Carl and Tina, the man holding the baby, who were watching TV while something was cooking in the kitchen. She sat down next to them as Terry opened the door. Much to her surprise, she just saw Jane at the doorstep and Hopper just driving off. She watched Jim just drive away, leaving her confused.
"Mama?" Jane asked, making the woman look down at her.
"Yes, Jane?"
"Hopper, uh...said that you and him are gonna do something about me and Mike."
She nodded and let her daughter in, closing the door and leading her to the kitchen. "Yes, we're going to have a talk after dinner."
She looked puzzled. "But Mike isn't here."
"Hopper will talk to Mike, I'll talk to you."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh..."
Hopper had driven away from the Ives home and had finally arrived back at the cabin. He gave the door the special knock, then Mike opened it with his powers. He went inside and closed the door behind him, seeing the boy watching TV with a comic Jane gave him next to him. He felt the nervous he had amplify, awkwardly staring at him. The boy looked concerned. "Are you okay?" he asked him.
"Uh, yeah, yeah, of course I am," he lied, walking towards him slowly.
"What did Terry need Jane for?"
He didn't answer as he sat right next to his son. "Something...can you turn off the TV?" Mike tilted his head towards the TV to switch it off, not keeping his eyes off of his adoptive father.
"What is it?"
After dinner, the two females went up to Jane's room. Terry pulled up a chair in front of Jane's bed, the girl sitting on there, criss-crossed. The woman sat on the chair and looked at Jane straight in the eye. "Now, Jane..."
"I...wanted to talk to you about...something," Hopper finally said after seconds of silence.
Mike looked puzzled. "Talk about what?"
"This doesn't mean that you and Mike are in trouble, alright?" Jane nodded, though that wasn't the vibe she got from Hopper on the way back home. "We both know how much you two care about each other." She held her daughter's hands, giving her a reassuring smile. "We also care about you two as well."
The tomboy looked a little skeptical. "Even Hopper?"
She nodded. "Even Hopper."
"I...uh..." Goddamn it, Hopper thought he was prepared. It was Jane asking all those questions on the way home, he swore. "What I wanted to talk about is..." Mike raised an eyebrow, looking curious.
"Hopper and I have talked this morning, as you know, and we both agreed..." Terry took a deep breath. "...that we should set some boundaries, moving forward."
She looked at her weird. "Boundaries?"
Hopper rubbed his mustache, looking away from Mike. "What I needed to say to you is..." The freckled boy ducked his head down, now looking impatient.
"Is...?" the boy asked.
"Hopper and I want you and Mike to help us build an open and comfortable environment where we are open to sharing our feelings. Does that make sense?" The brown-haired girl nodded, making her mother nod back. "Good."
Mike suddenly looked worried. "Is something wrong?" he asked his adoptive father.
He looked at him and shook his head. "Oh no!" he replied. "Nooooooo, nothing's...wrong." Or was it? "Um...so..."
"Here's what I'm thinking: you call Mike tomorrow and tell him that you won't be hanging out with him that day."
Jane's eyes widened. "What?!"
Terry held up her hands, gesturing her to calm down. "I'm sure that after Hopper has his talk with him, he'll definitely understand. In fact, Hopper might ask the same of Mike right now."
"Uh..."
Mike narrowed his eyes at him. "You're acting really weird, Pop."
He scoffed and muttered under his breath, "Shit, is it that obvious?"
"What?"
He instantly looked at his son, trying to look coy. "Nothing! Nothing..." He rubbed his face in frustration, knowing damn well that he was screwing up.
"Okay...so I call Mike and we won't see each other tomorrow?" Jane asked, Terry nodding.
"Mmm-hmm."
"But then what do I do?"
She shrugged. "You can hang out with the boys, or even Max. Hanging out with just Max is a nice change of pace from the boys." Jane pursed her lips, uncomfortable with that suggestion since she's known the rest of the boys for a long time. "Or you can hang out with your Aunt Becky, Uncle Carl, and Tina. It's all up to you, in the end."
The tomboy looked away from her mom and frowned. "But what could Mike do...?"
"Hey..." The dirty-blonde-haired woman grabbed and stroked her daughter's arm for comfort. "I'm sure Hopper will have something planned for him."
She looked at her. "Are you sure?"
She nodded. "I'm sure."
"What I wanted to talk to you about..." He paused. "...is..."
"Didn't you say that before?"
Damn it, did he?
Jane nodded and sighed. "Okay, Mama. I'll do what you say tomorrow."
Terry smiled and held her daughter's hands again. "Don't worry, it'll just be for one day. Kali and Steve do it, so you and Mike can do it as well."
She got a point there, so the girl smiled a little. "Yeah, you're right." The woman then hugged her, her daughter hugging back.
After a bit, the two released their hug. The dirty-blonde-haired woman stood up and began to leave the room. "Now, go change and get to bed, alright, sweetie?"
She nodded again. "Okay, Mama."
Terry turned and leaned against the doorway, smiling at her daughter once more. "Good night, sweetheart."
Jane returned the smile and replied, "Good night, Mama." And with that, the woman left to go downstairs.
Jane flopped back on her bed and let out a deep sigh. She honestly felt nervous about doing this, especially since she loved being with Mike all the time, but Hopper was giving him the same talk too, so everything will be fine. Besides, it's just one day. What's the worse that could happen?
Hopper decided to give up and stand. He ruffled his son's hair and forced a smile on his face. "Y'know what, buddy? It's been a long day. I'll just talk to you tomorrow." He began walking away to his room. "Go to sleep, bud."
Mike was completely lost on what just happened and why it did, as evident by his weirded-out look and raised eyebrow. He did say that it's been a long day, meaning that it wasn't the best day ever, but he still wanted to know what he wanted to talk about. It did make him act weird tonight...
While Billy was driving to Motel 6, he was tapping his hand to the metal song that blared on his radio, grinning to himself. This Stacey chick...she may be as old as Susan, but she had caught his eye for a while now. She looked hot for her age and she actually seemed to have a personality. Now he wonders how well she'll be during their "swimming lessons".
He laughed and looked up at his car mirror, saying, "'Hey, Stacey. You know what you really look like?'" He grinned. "'Like an angel taking my breath away.'" His expression fell, him looking away from the mirror and muttering under his breath, "Would she like that...? No..." He was going to spend a night with an older woman, so he couldn't come off as awful, especially since he was the young one-
Before he could think more though, something came and broke his windshield, shocking the hell out of him as he tried to stop his car from getting out of control. He eventually crashed near an abandoned steelworks building, the force painful and his forehead bleeding. He cursed as the radio stopped working and he sees his windshield badly damaged. Not only that, he was bleeding. He knew blood drives away the ladies, it could drive away Stacey too.
He crawled out of his car, slowly standing up and checking his now damaged car, cursing some more. Little did he know about the danger about to capture him tonight...
Stacey had gotten to Motel 6 pretty early, so she got her and Billy a room with a single bed they're sure to share tonight. She had waited at the parking lot for him, feeling anxious every minute he wasn't here.
It has been an hour and he still hasn't shown up.
Her anxiousness was pretty high and she began to feel upset. He enjoyed her company, didn't he? She sure as hell enjoyed his. Not only did he have the personality and the body, but also the compliments. He complimented her form at the pool earlier today! Why the hell wasn't he here?
Unless...
The door suddenly opened, revealing the disinterested-looking female clerk as she asked, "You're still waiting?"
Stacey huffed and stood up, getting inside. "Not anymore." She might as well stay the night because she knows she wouldn't get a refund. That piece of shit...
And that's it for Episode 1! What do you guys think of this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?
And so Becky, Carl, and their new baby girl Tina appears! As I said before, they'll mostly play the role the rest of the Wheeler family did in canon.
However, Stacey is the one that has the hots for (the barely legal) Billy in this AU. It might go a little differently than him and Karen in canon though...
I'm sure Kali, in canon, would be more upfront and blunt when she gets treated like garbage, so that's why her and Jonathan's conversation was written as it is.
Yes, I did make Hopper snap at Jane, but I figured that since he didn't like how she was "influencing" Mike and she was annoying him at the moment, it was bound to happen. No threats 'cause what father threatens his son's girlfriend? Also, it was fun writing the heart-to-hearts back-to-back like that. xD Too bad things will go south...
Keep supporting this fanfic and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!