I just got back from vacation. Now, time to start part 3.
This is definitely a hot take, but Season 3 was my favorite season of them all. If HOPPER JUST STAYED DEAD, Season 4 would have been my favorite.
Stranger Things belongs to the Duffer Brothers.
The OC belongs to me.
June 28, 1985
Hawkins, Indiana
Play "Never Surrender" by Corey Hart
Just a little more time
Is all we're asking for
'Cause just a little more time
Could open closing doors
Just a little uncertainty can bring you down
Jane Hopper, better known as Elle, was kissing her boyfriend, Mike Wheeler, while Mike was singing along to the song.
And nobody wants to know you now
Nobody wants to show you
"Mike, stop," Elle tried to shut up her boyfriend. He wouldn't stop singing, though.
So if you're lost and on your own
You can never surrender
Mike stopped singing when he saw the look on his girlfriend's face. "You don't like it?"
"No," Elle replied.
The two continued their kissing.
End "Never Surrender"
Outside the room, Elle's brother, John, better known as Elvis, was sitting in the living room watching TV with his adopted dad, Jim Hopper. The stuff was boring, but Elvis preferred this over his sister making out. She's been doing this since the start of summer, and it got annoying really quickly.
Hopper leaned back and watched Elle and Mike making out. The door was open three inches, so if he leaned back far enough, he could watch them.
Elle noticed that Hopper was watching them, and used her psychic powers to shut the door all the way.
"Hey!" Hopper shouted as he got up and walked to the door. "Three-inch minimum!" He tried to open the door. It was locked. He then started banging. "Elle, open this door!"
Hopper grew tired and tried forcing the door open. The door opened, and he saw Elle and Mike just laying on the bed reading comic books.
"What's wrong?" Mike asked, as if he and Elle weren't making out two seconds ago.
Hopper just glared at them.
Later, Mike was biking away from the cabin, while talking to Elle on his walkie.
"That was priceless," he said. "Did you see his face?"
"It was like a tomato," Elle replied.
"Yeah, a fat tomato."
"I wish I was still with you."
"I know. Me too. But I'll see you first thing tomorrow, all right?"
"Tomorrow."
Mike biked towards the newly opened "Starcourt Mall", the new star attraction of Hawkins.
He met up with his three other friends, Lucas Sinclair, Max Mayfield, and Will Byers. Mike had another friend, Dustin Henderson, but he couldn't make it because he was at a special camp out of state.
"You're late, again," Lucas scolded.
"We're gonna miss the opening," Will added.
"Yeah, if you keep whining about it," Mike retorted. "Let's go."
The four friends entered the mall.
"Let me guess," Lucas teased. "You were…" He smacked his lips to imitate kissing. "'Oh, Elle, I wish we could make out forever and never hang out with any of our other friends.'"
"Lucas, stop," Max scolded.
"Will thinks it's funny," Lucas retorted.
To be fair, Will did think it was funny. He couldn't help but make a small chuckle.
"Yeah, it's so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend," Mike sarcastically remarked.
"I'm spending romantic time with my girlfriend," Lucas retorted, referring to Max. He wrapped her in a hug.
The kids were in a hurry to see the new movie. They walked past people on an escalator. They almost bumped into a random teenage girl.
"Watch it," the girl scolded.
"Yeah, watch it nerd," said an annoying voice.
Nearby, Lucas' little sister, Erica, was eating ice cream with some friends.
"Isn't it past your bedtime?" Lucas scolded.
"Isn't it time you died?" Erica retorted.
"Psycho."
"Asshat."
"Mall rat!"
"Shitface!"
The siblings blew raspberries at each other.
"Now that was mature," Max scolded as she grabbed her boyfriend's hand.
The kids entered the nearby ice cream joint, Scoops Ahoy. Mike rang the bell constantly, even though an employee was already there. A blonde seventeen-year-old girl wearing the classic Scoops Ahoy uniform (a blue and white striped shirt and a white hat that said "AHOY" in big blue letters). Judging by her nametag, her name was Robin.
"Hey dinguses, your children are here," she said.
The window opened to reveal Steve Harrington and Barbara Holland, both wearing similar uniforms.
"Again, seriously?" Barb muttered frustratedly.
The late teens reluctantly obliged and allowed the kids to sneak into the movie theater through the Scoops Ahoy backstage.
"I swear, if anyone hears about this…" Steve was about to threaten.
"We're dead," the kids interrupted in unison. This wasn't the first time Steve said that, and needless to say, the repetition helped it stick.
The kids made it into the theater and found some empty seats.
"See, we made it," Mike assured Lucas.
"We missed the previews," Lucas retorted.
"Still made it, shitface."
The kids stopped talking. They passed each other snacks and watched the movie…
Until the power went out. This upset not just the kids, but everyone in the theater.
"The hell?" Lucas yelled.
At the Scoops Ahoy, the lights went out. Steve went to the light switch, hoping he could turn it back on. Nothing happened.
"It isn't gonna work, dingus," Robin scolded.
"Oh really?" Steve retorted as he continued flipping the switch at a faster pace.
After a while, though, the lights came back on.
"Let there be light," Steve smiled.
Barb and Robin knew it wasn't Steve that fixed the power. They both decided they give him enough crap, so they'll let him have this one moment. Little did they know that they were both smiling at each other very intensely. Steve noticed this and grinned.
Back in the theater, the projector turned back on. The movie continued as if nothing happened.
Everyone in the audience cheered, except for Will. He knew something was off. He knew that the power outage was more than just a small outage. To worsen it, he felt a small tingle on the back of his neck.
It was just like his episodes the year before, just with a smaller effect. It was still enough for him to know that there was another stranger thing in Hawkins. What does it want? He didn't know, but it just might involve him in a cruel and twisted way.
Mike noticed the scared look on Will's face. This worried him.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked.
Will turned to Mike as if he was startled. He got his bearings and nodded. "Yeah."
Mike wasn't sure Will meant that. After all the trauma he had to endure the past couple years, Mike couldn't help but feel concerned for his friend. "Are you sure?"
"Of course."
Mike wasn't buying it. However, he didn't want to push Will, so he let it go. The two went back to watching the movie, and having a good time while doing so.
Stranger Things 3
Chapter 1
Suzie, Do You Copy?
Play "Open the Door" by Gentlemen Afterdark
Nancy woke up quickly.
"Shit," she muttered. She looked at her watch and saw she was running late. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."
Her second boyfriend, Will's brother, Jonathan, woke up to the sound of Nancy's panic.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"We forgot to reset the clocks," Nancy explained. "It's almost 9:00. We're gonna be late."
The two quickly got out of bed and got dressed.
Come on with a gun
Come on with a heart attack
Come on suicide
Yeah, just like you a trap
Nancy jumped out the window while Jonathan ran to the dining room. His mom, Joyce, saw how beat he looked.
"Wait up," she said.
"I'll eat at work," Jonathan assured. "I'm late."
Joyce relented and let Jonathan leave.
Save a blue face for me
Turn around and take it off
Save a new place for me
Yeah, just where the flowers drop
"Gross," Will muttered, knowing exactly what his brother was up to the night before.
"I don't think it's gross to fall in love," Joyce retorted.
"I'm not gonna fall in love." That was a lie. Will never really let go of his feelings for Mike.
That's when Joyce noticed that the magnets fell off the fridge. These magnets were used to hang Will's drawings. She took the magnets, and hung the drawings back up.
Love that was new to you
You open up the door
I fall in love with these
I crawl out on the floor
End "Open the Door"
Jonathan and Nancy got in the car and drove over to their workplace. Jonathan was driving pretty slowly.
"Can't you go faster, Jonathan?" asked Nancy.
"Do you want to break down?" Jonathan retorted. "We're lucky this thing still drives."
"I'm serious. I can't be late."
"Don't you mean WE can't be late?"
"No, I mean I can't be late. They like you no matter what you do."
"They like you too."
"They like that I'm a coffee delivery machine. I mean, the bosses used to be so nice, but now it seems like they're just playing favorites with us. They don't like me or respect me, but they like and respect you."
"You just gotta be patient, okay? They're set in their ways, but once they realize what a gifted writer you are, they'll come around."
"I really don't need a pep talk right now. Just, please drive faster."
Jonathan sighed and relented. He sped up just a bit.
On the other side of the road, Dustin Henderson was heading home from camp. He tried calling his friends.
"This is Gold Leader returning to base, do you copy? Over," he repeated over and over.
"Dusty, relax," his mom scolded.
"I'm in range, they should be answering."
"You've been away a whole month. Maybe they just…" Mrs. Henderson stopped, not knowing what to say.
When they got back to the house, Dustin returned to his room. He saw his tortoise sitting in the cage. At least he was happy Dustin came home.
That's when his toy robot started moving all by itself. Other toys started doing the same thing. They were all moving out of the room. Dustin followed the toys out of curiosity. After a while, they stopped.
Unbeknownst to Dustin, Mike, Elle, Lucas, Max, Will, and Elvis were sneaking up behind him with a "Welcome Home, Dustin!" sign. When the time was right, they blew their party blowers.
The sudden noise scared Dustin. He turned around and swung his hand. He inadvertently slapped Lucas.
At the community pool, some random teenage girls were sitting next to the pool. They watched as a female lifeguard left her post, and another lifeguard was coming to take her place.
The male lifeguard in question was Billy Hargrove. He was a hot blonde boy wearing nothing but sunglasses and shorts. All the girls smiled as he walked by.
Billy watched as a young boy was running across the pool. He blew his whistle to get the kid's attention.
"Hey, lard-ass!" he called out. "No running on my watch! If I catch you running again, and you're banned for life! Wanna be banned for life?" The boy shook his head, making Billy grin. "That's what I thought."
He blew his whistle again, allowing the other visitors to get back to doing what they were doing.
Joyce went to work at the general store. She hung a banner to announce a sale going on. A 50-70% off discount on everything. Hopper came in.
"Hey, are you busy?" he said.
"You're our first customer," Joyce replied. "So… What now?"
Hopper started explaining the events of Mike's visit the night before while Joyce was restocking the shelves.
"And Elle just slammed the door right on my face!" he explained.
"Uh-huh," said Joyce to signify she was paying attention. She only barely was, though.
"You know, it is that smug son of a bitch, Mike," Hopper continued. "He's corrupting her, I'm telling you. And I'm just gonna lose it, and I mean lose it, Joyce. I need them to break up."
"That is not your decision."
"They're spending entirely too much time together. You agree with me about that, right?"
"I mean, they're just kissing, right?"
"Yeah, but it's constant. Okay? That is not normal or healthy."
"You can't force them apart. They're not little kids anymore. They're teenagers. If you order them around like a cop, they will rebel. It's just what they do."
"So what, I'm just supposed to let them do whatever they want?"
"No, I think you should talk to them."
"No, talking doesn't work."
"Not yelling. Not ordering. Just talk to them. Like a heart-to-heart. Sit them down and talk to them like you're their friend. In my experience, if you talk to them, like you're on their level, then they'll really start to listen. Then, you know, you know, you could start to create some boundaries. But, Hop, it's really important that you stay calm no matter how they respond."
"Maybe you could do it for me? You come after work."
"No, it only works if it comes from you. But, maybe I can help you find the right words."
Joyce started writing stuff down.
Outside, Nancy was walking to the Hawkins Post with a bag of food for other employees. She entered a briefing room and listened in on the big employees talking about what news they should write. An idea quickly came to her head.
"What about Starcourt?" she suggested, getting everyone to stare at her. "I was just thinking. I know everyone loves the mall, but how many small businesses have closed since its opening? Five on main, at least. It's changing the fabric of our town in a way…"
"The Death of Small-Town America," one of the men interrupted. "I like it, but I got something spicier. It's about the missing mustard on my hamburger. You think you can follow the clues?"
Nancy was annoyed, but she kept her cool. She took the burger and walked away.
Back at Dustin's, Dustin was showing the kids the contraptions he made at camp. One of these contraptions was a little windmill that he turned with a crank.
"I call it… the Forever Clock," he explained. "Powered by wind. Very useful in the apocalypse." He then showed an automatic hammer. "This is the slammer. Pretty neat, huh?" He then showed a duffel bag. "But this is my masterpiece." He opened the bag to show a bunch of electronic parts. "I would like you to meet Cerebro."
The kids had no idea what was in there.
"What exactly are we looking at here?" asked Mike.
"An unassembled, one of a kind, battery-powered radio tower," Dustin explained.
"So it's a ham radio?" asked Will.
"The Cadillac of ham radios," Dustin specified. "This baby carried a crystal clear connection over vast distances. I'm talking about the North Pole to the South Pole. I can talk to my girlfriend wherever and whenever I choose."
"Girlfriend?" everyone asked in unison. Last they checked, Dustin didn't have a girlfriend.
Dustin nodded.
Everyone walked out of the house carrying parts of Cerebro.
"Her name is Suzie?" asked Lucas.
"Yes," Dustin replied. "She's from Utah."
"Girls go to Science Camp?"
"Suzie does. She's a genius."
"Is she cute?"
"Think Phoebe Cates, only hotter and younger."
At Scoops Ahoy, Steve was serving ice cream to a fifteen-year-old boy.
"That's one scoop of chocolate," he said. "That's a buck and twenty-five."
"I said I wanted vanilla," the boy complained.
"Oh, sorry," Steve apologized. "We're out of vanilla."
"Not anymore!" a voice called out.
Barb left the kitchen with a new container of vanilla. She put the container in the empty vanilla slot. She then took Steve's scooper. ("Hey," Steve said, offended.) She scooped one scoop of vanilla into the cone, and gave it to the girl.
"That's a buck and twenty-five," she said.
The boy smiled and gave Barb a couple bucks.
"Keep the change," he said before walking away with his friend.
"And another victory point for Holland," said a voice.
Behind them, Robin was standing on the other side of the window. She was holding a white board. Barb's name was on the top left. Steve's was on the top right. Below the names were tally marks that labeled points for each of them. Points for who would correctly serve the customer what they want. Steve had six points. Barb had eleven points, but Robin added another mark. It totalled twelve points for Barb.
"It's twelve to six, Harrington," Robin teased.
"Yeah, yeah, I can count," Steve replied.
"You know that means you suck," Barb added.
"Yep, I can read too," said Steve.
"Since when?" the two girls asked in unison.
Steve didn't answer. He changed the subject. "It's this stupid hat. It's blowing my best feature."
"Yeah, company policy is a real drag," Barb remarked. "You know, it's a crazy idea, but have you considered… telling the truth?"
"That I couldn't get into Tech and my dick dad's trying to teach me a lesson, I make three bucks an hour and I have no future, that truth?" asked Steve.
"Twelve o'clock," said Robin.
Steve turned to Robin's "twelve o'clock", and saw that there were new customers.
"You know what?" he said, throwing off his hat. "Screw company policy."
"Oh my god, you're a whole new man," Robin sarcastically remarked.
Steve ignored Robin and went to the customers.
"Ahoy, ladies!" he greeted. "Didn't see you there. Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor? I'll be your captain. I'm Steve Harrington."
The girls were clearly creeped out by the way Steve was acting.
Robin sighed and added another tally mark to Barb's score. It was clear at this point Barb was going to satisfy these customers, not Steve.
At the general store, Hopper was practicing the speech Joyce wrote.
"I know this is a difficult conversation to have," he recited. "But I hope that you know that I care about you very much."
Hopper wasn't looking at Joyce.
"Eye contact," she reminded him.
Hopper turned to look Joyce in the eyes as if he was looking Elle and Mike in the eyes. He continued reciting. "And I know you both care about each other very much." He stopped reciting. "This does not sound like me at all."
"Just keep going," said Joyce.
"Which is why I think it's important to establish these boundaries moving forward," Hopper continued. "So we can build an environment where we all feel comfortable, trusted, and open, to share our feelings…" He stopped again. "This isn't going to work."
"It will," Joyce assured. "Come on."
Hopper ignored her.
"Maybe I'll just arrest Mike," he suggested. "I'm the chief of police, I can arrest whoever I want, whenever I want."
Joyce took Hopper's hand. "You got this. I promise."
Hopper and Joyce looked at each other, smiling.
"You wanna have dinner tonight?" he asked. "You can give me more pointers."
Joyce sighed. "I have plans."
The door opened. A customer entered. Hopper sat and watched as Joyce talked to the customer. He smiled as he watched.
Meanwhile, Dustin and his friends were walking up a hill.
"Aren't we high enough?" asked Lucas.
"Cerebro works best at a hundred meters," Dustin replied.
"I'm sure people in Utah have telephones," said Max.
"Yeah, but Suzie's Mormon," Dustin explained.
"Oh shit," said Lucas. "She doesn't have electricity?"
"That's the Amish," Max corrected.
"What are Mormons?" asked Elvis.
"Super religious white people," Dustin explained. "They have electricity and cars and stuff, but since I'm not Mormon, her parents would never approve of me. It's all a bit Shakespearean, like Romeo and Juliet."
"We got it," said Max.
"Hey guys!" Mike called out. "This is fun and all, but… Elle has to go home. Curfew."
Mike and Elle walked away, holding hands.
"Curfew at 4:00?" asked Dustin.
"They're lying," said Elvis. "With that logic, I'd have that curfew too. I don't. They're just looking for an excuse to make out for hours. It's annoying."
"It's romantic," Max defended.
"It's gross," Will retorted.
"It's bullshit," said Lucas.
"Well, it's their loss," said Dustin. "Onwards and upwards. Suzie awaits."
The other kids sighed. Lucas and Max reluctantly walked on. Will and Elvis stood and watched as their closest friends walked off.
Will turned to keep walking, but he felt the tingle again. He started to get worried again.
Elvis noticed the look on Will's face and got concerned.
"Hey, you okay?" Elvis asked, grabbing Will's hand.
Will snapped out of it and turned to Elvis. "I'm fine."
"Guys, come on!" Dustin called out to them.
Will and Elvis ran to catch up with their friends, not knowing they were both holding hands.
After a lot more walking, they reached the spot.
"Made it," said Dustin.
"Yeah, it only took five hours," Will retorted. "Why couldn't we just play DnD? I'm so thirsty."
Will took the canteen and chugged as much water as she could. Once he was done, Elvis glared at him.
"Did you just drink the rest of our water?" he asked.
Will spit out whatever water he didn't swallow, and offered it to Elvis. Elvis was grossed out by this and smacked the canteen out of Will's hand.
The kids started putting Cerebro together. Once they were done, they all looked impressed.
"Cool, huh?" asked Dustin.
Everyone else nodded.
"Ready to meet my love?" asked Dustin.
"Yeah, sure," said Max.
Dustin turned the radio on.
"Suzie, it's Dustin," he said. "Do you copy? Over." Static. Dustin turned to the others. "It might be a second." He turned back to the radio. "Suzie, it's Dustin. Do you copy? Over." Static.
The others were losing their patience.
At the Byers', Joyce made it home from work.
"Guys, I'm home," she said.
No one answered.
Joyce went to the fridge and grabbed some leftovers. She warmed them in the microwave. She turned on the TV and started eating. The show playing was one of the first shows she watched with her late boyfriend, Bob.
Flashback
Joyce and Bob watched the couple in the show arguing.
"It's so funny," said Bob. "I wish they'd just get back together already."
"Me too," said Joyce.
The two kissed and continued laughing at the characters.
End of Flashback
While Joyce was busy eating and watching the TV, she failed to notice that the magnets on the fridge fell off again. With them, the drawings.
At the Post, Nancy was cleaning up the place. She heard the phone ring. Since no one was around to answer, she decided to answer herself.
"Hawkins Post, may we help you?" she said. "Hold on, can you repeat that?"
She grabbed a pencil and started taking notes. As she listened, she wrote down, "Doris Driscoll, 4819 Cornwallis RD, disease… rats."
At Hopper's cabin, Hopper was laying on his bed reciting Joyce's speech. When he was done, he walked over to Elle's room. He knocked on the door.
"Hey, can I come in?" he asked.
Elle used her powers to open the door, signifying Hopper could enter. Hopper entered to see Elle and Mike sitting on the bed like everything's normal.
Hopper grabbed a chair and sat down. The three sat in awkward silence until Hopper started speaking.
"Um…" he said. "What I, uh… needed to say to you… What I wanted to say to you is that, um…"
"Uh oh," Mike said. "I think we're in trouble."
"No," Hopper assured. "No one's in trouble. I just, um…" He forgot the speech rather instantly. He decided to switch things up. He turned to Mike. "Your mom called. She needs you home right away. It's your grandma."
Hopper led Mike outside. They got in the car.
"What's wrong with Nana?" asked Mike. "Is she sick, or did she just fall again?"
"There's nothing wrong with Nana," Hopper said calmly. "But there's something very wrong with this thing between you and Elle."
Mike wasn't paying attention. He was too upset that Hopper lied to him, again. He tried to get out of the car, but Hopper locked the door.
"You're crazy!" Mike shouted.
Hopper started to lose his patience. "Crazy? You want to see real crazy? You disrespect me again. Okay, here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna drive you home, and I'm gonna speak, and you're going to listen. And then, maybe, maybe by the end of it, maybe if you're lucky, then I will continue to allow you to date my daughter. Nod if you understand."
Mike nodded. Hopper started the engine and drove to Mike's house.
Elsewhere, Billy was driving home from the pool. He was listening to the radio and singing along to the song.
That's when something hit the windshield, causing it to crack. He lost control and crashed at a nearby mill. The car stopped working, so he couldn't drive away.
"Dammit!" he yelled. "Piece of shit!"
That's when he noticed a weird slime on the car. He then heard a noise.
"Who's there?" he called out.
Before he could react, something grabbed his leg and pulled him into the mill.
At the hillside, Dustin was still trying to call Suzie, just for nothing but static.
Max was getting tired. "Dustin, come on! She's not there!"
"She is, alright?" Dustin retorted. "She'll pick up."
"Maybe Cerebro doesn't work," said Will.
"Or maybe, Suzie doesn't exist," Elvis added.
"She exists!" Dustin retorted.
"She's a genius and hotter than Phoebe Cates?" asked Lucas. "No girl is that perfect."
"Is that so?" asked Max.
Lucas realized his mistake and tried to fix it. "I mean, you're perfect. Perfect in your own way. Your special way."
"It's okay, I was just teasing," Max assured. "I'm obviously perfect, and Dustin's obviously lying. Come on Don Juan."
Max got up and helped Lucas up. The two walked away.
"Where are you going?" asked Dustin.
"Home," Max replied.
Dustin turned to Elvis and Will. "Guess it's just the three of us, now."
"Um, it's late," said Elvis. "If I had a curfew, this would be that time. Sorry."
"Maybe we can play DnD tomorrow," Will suggested. "Or do something fun like we used to."
"Sure," said Dustin.
"Welcome home."
Will ran for his house while Elvis flew away.
That's when Dustin heard a noise coming from his radio. He ran for his communicator.
"Suzie, is that you?" he asked.
However, the voice that came out wasn't female. It was male. The person in question wasn't speaking english. It was talking in Russian. Dustin couldn't understand what the man was saying.
A.N.
So this is the start of part 3.
Firstly, I decided to have Hopper say he's gonna arrest Mike instead of kill him. I just felt it was funnier.
I swapped the scene of Billy getting taken by the Mind Flayer and Dustin getting the Russian message, because I felt the latter makes a better end to the episode.
Speaking of Billy, I once again removed the scenes of Billy and Karen flirting, because again, that was so weird.
We got some fun moments between Will and Elvis, which is nice.
Speaking of Will, I put some thought into it and decided Will's crush on Mike shouldn't be resolved so quickly. Because of that, Will's main arc in this season is finally moving on from Mike.
While it was a bit of a pattern for me to insert Steve into Nancy's plot, I decided not to do that this time. Steve still works at Scoops Ahoy with Barb, that way they can grow close together.
Since Steve is in a poly ship with Nancy and Jonathan, he doesn't have a crush on Robin in this universe. Instead, Barb will have a crush on Robin. That also gives Steve another reason to be here. So he can help Barb come to terms with being a lesbian.
Anyway, that's all I have to say. Thanks for reading. Please favorite, follow, and review.