Halley's comet | Steve Harrington

xxiii. troy walsh slander

"Why don't you ask your kids?" Hopped looked down at Jonathan with his hands still cuffed, "it was in their car."

"What-"

"Why are you going through my car?" Jonathan said, his voice coming out sharper than Halley had ever remembered hearing. She decided it was not the time to point out that it was 'their' car.

Resting his hands on the desk, Hopper leaned forward, getting to slightly above eye level, as he voice became lower, "is that really the question you should be asking right now?" Silence. "I want to see you in my office."

Callahan and Powell were left in the dark as the chief led the Byers and Nancy into his office, shutting the door, and sitting atop his desk.

Halley, who had been in the room far more often than the others, both for illegal and legal reasons, was far more comfortable in the situation. She was the first to sit down, directly across Hopper and holding his threatening eye. Obviously, he was convinced the teens were in the wrong here, and while he did have a fair enough point, Halley wasn't going to back down.

"You wanna explain what was going on back there, Halley?" He asked, his head nodding outside, despite being nowhere near the movie theater.

"I mean, Harrington's a dick, we already knew that." she replied. Hopper's eyes narrowed.

"That boy hit you?" he asked, his voice grave as he gestured to her cheek. Her hand subconsciously went to bruise, still branding her face.

"No."

He let it go, thankfully. Hopper's main focus was what he had found in their car, their offense of public disturbance going unmentioned for the moment.

"I, uh, I think this might explain some things." Nancy pulled the picture of the monster from her pocket. The one she and Jonathan had gone to the darkroom at school to print out, and handed it to Joyce. "That's— it's the thing that took Barb and Will. We were going to kill it." Halley was only a little offended by how her brother didn't try to stop Nancy from talking about the demogorgon.

Continuing, Jonathan said, "It's like a shark with blood."

A dark air filled over the room with the woman's shuddering breath, and Nancy's brief explanation of the night the three ventured into the woods, and, mistakenly, into the Upside Down. Joyce handed it over to Hopper. Halley bit her nails as she watched Hopper take it all in. "You say blood attracts this thing?"

Halley's face scrunched in less than a useful answer as Nancy said, "Kind of, it's just a theory." Her eyes stayed low, refusing to meet anyone else's.

Hopper sighed, rubbing his face, and shaking his head. It was a shared feeling between everyone in the room. "Wheeler. I didn't call your parents. And I'm not going to, but I'm serious when I say I better not see this shit again." Nancy nodded sincerely. "Good. Now get the receipt for all that hunting crap before Callahan tries to write you three up for theft."

Jonathan took the keys from his pocket and offered them to Nancy, she accepted, still staring at the two siblings, it was obvious they were in for hell. Halley nodded her on, they were doomed, but no use screwing her over too.

She walked out.

There was a lull as the confrontation shifted from a group interrogation. From the silent conversation that went on between Hopper and her Mom, she assumed there was a reason that Joyce only took Jonathan out into the hall.

Cracking her knuckles, Halley waited for Hopper to say something. It was obviously coming, the tension in the room was undeniable, but there were a few things he could bring up.