Unconditional Love

Chapter 7

Hopper's POV

Joyce and I spent the night together watching movies and eating pizza. We were both happy after all. the tiny living room was filled with our laughs and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming.

I sat far apart from her tonight and it was obvious that I was kind of starting to miss the warmness of her body against mine. Despite what I previously mentioned,the distance between us actually ended up being helpful because I could stare at her without her realising. She looked so astonishing and she had no idea of it.

Suddenly,she turned her head slightly to look at me. Her movement snapped me out my thoughts and I looked away from her and back to the TV immediately. I reacted way later than I was supposed to which leaded in Joyce realising that I was staring.

"It's kind of cold in here isn't it?" Joyce inquired,trying to avoid talking about what she had just witnessed me doing.

"Yeah...want me to go bring your blanket?" I offered.

"No I'm okay. I'll go grab it myself. Besides,I need to start moving again because the way things are going, I can see myself forgetting how to walk." She responded and gave me a smile.

I couldn't help but get lost in her damn beautiful chocolate brown eyes and sweet smile again. I was too stunned to speak. I just sat there and looked at her like an idiot who's in mad love.
Her nose scrunched up in confusion.
Oh I love it when she does this. I thought to myself.

"Hop you there? Earth to Hopper."

"Oh...uh yeah,yeah go ahead." I responded.

My cheeks turned bright red in an instant but luckily the room was too dark for her to notice. At least I thought so.

Joyce's POV

I felt a cold shiver running down my spine so I decided to ask Hopper if he felt cold as well or if it was just me. As soon as I turned around to look at him,I caught him staring at me but with different look in his eyes. It wasn't the way he normally looks at me,like a normal person does. His eyes were filled with something that I couldn't quite catch. He looked at me the way I would catch him looking at me back in highschool. I didn't think much of because I thought it was just a coincidence,turning to look at each other at the same time,but as soon as I told him that I'd go grab my blanket,he zoned out again and started looking deep into my eyes. Same look as before.

The room was dark,the only source of light being the movie that was playing on TV. It still wasn't dark enough for me to realise how his cheeks turned bright red while looking at me. Is he in love with me? Did he actually blush right now or am I just seeing things because I just realised that I like him? Come on Joyce start thinking straight for once. He doesn't like you back. He used to in highschool but you were too blind to see. Stop thinking he'll fall for you again. I thought to myself.

I gave Hop a smile and tried standing up to head to my room. Mid way, my hip started to hurt again and I gripped onto the wall for support. Eventually, I lost my balance and fell down on the floor. At that moment all I could do was wish that Hopper hadn't heard me falling down. I was too embarrassed. But in just a second,I heard him running to me. Shit

"Oh my God Joyce are you alright?" He asked and kneeled down to pick me up.

"Yeah... I'm sorry Hop. I lost my balance due to the pain on my hip. I tried to keep myself up but I couldn't...sorry."

"It's alright sweetie why are you saying sorry? Accidents happen Joyce and lets not forget the fact that you're hurt. Come on let's go back to the couch and I'll bring you a blanket to cover up with okay?" He reassured me in the sweetest tone I had ever heard.

The fact that he called me sweetie made me blush and I was sure that he could tell. But at this point I didn't mind. The distance between us started becoming smaller and smaller. Is he about to kiss me? Soon enough I could feel his warm breath on my face. I closed my eyes, waiting for his lips to meet mine. But then, suddenly we heard the door open. He quickly helped me stand up,took me to the couch and went to see who it was.

Hopper's POV

When I went to pick Joyce up I noticed that she started to blush. What does that mean? Is she in love? Why is she blushing?
I thought to myself. Suddenly the our faces got closer and closer. We were about to kiss. Or it just happened randomly. Joyce closed her eyes as I slipped my hands under her body in order to pick her up, still having my face close to hers. Was she getting ready to kiss me or did she close her eyes because of the pain when I touched her?" None of my questions would ever get answered because the door suddenly opened. I quickly picked Joyce up and took her to the couch. Right after that I went to check who was coming inside.

"Chief? What are you still doing here?" Joyce's eldest, Jonathan asked me.

"I'm here with your mom. I promised you I'd take care of her while you were away and I am not going to break that promise" I responded to him.

"Thank you for everything. I just came to grab something and check up on her."

"Okay kid. How have your days been? How is your little brother? Are you guys finally having a little fun?" I asked him.

"Yeah we are. Thank you for asking. Will is okay. We're both still trying to get over the shock. Oh and, we found out Eleven- I mean El is your daughter. She's getting along really well with Will. She makes him really happy!!"

"I'm glad they're friends. Come on in kid it's cold in here."

He gave me a smile and went right to his mother who was laying on the couch. I noticed him grabbing her hand and speaking to her softly. I went to the kitchen in order not to interrupt their conversation and I gave myself some time to think about everything that happened a few minutes back. I was in love,that was clear to me. But I had no idea about how Joyce felt. I let my face fall inside of my palms and sat there, waiting for the two to finish their conversation.

Jonathan's POV

As soon as I saw my mother laying on the couch I ran to her to check if she was okay.

"Jonathan my love I missed you baby."

"I missed you too mom." I said as I kneeled down next to her and laced my fingers into hers.

"Is everything okay? I mean...with Hopper. Is he taking care of you or has anything happened?" I asked, full of concerns.

"No sweetheart everything is okay. We're fine. We were actually watching a movie and he bought us some pizza. He takes great care of me Jonathan. You don't need to worry about him." She reassured me and squeezed my hand while giving me a sweet smile

I was glad to finally see her smiling after everything that happened to her. Will was happy with his friends, I am happy with Nancy and my mother is finally happy. Everything is great.

After I told her all about the party, I gave her a kiss on the forehead and headed for the kitchen to grab some snacks just as the kids asked from me because they wanted to watch a movie and needed some chips. As I walked in I noticed Hopper sitting on a stool with his head shoved in his palms. He seemed upset. I did care about him now that I knew how amazing he treated my mom so I sat next to him.

"Is everything okay Chief?" I asked

"Yeah kid I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"You can go get some rest. You don't need to take care of my mother all day it's not your job. Sorry for putting all this pressure on you, I should've been there for her more. I'll stay here with her."

"No kid, it's okay. Go have some fun with your friends,you deserve it. Don't worry about me. And about what you previously mentioned, it might not be my job but I care about your mom. I really do. I want to make her happy, that's why I'm staying." He said and gave me a pat on the back.

"Thank you chief. You don't know how much this all means to me."

"Call me Hop"

I smiled at him,took what I needed to take from the cabinet and left with a relief. Felt like all my worries were gone. Hopper was actually treating my mother perfectly. The way she deserves to be treated. He loves her.