brontide ; stranger things

FIVE

Alharaca (n.)

an extraordinary or violent emotional reaction

-Collie's Word of the Day #178

•••

  "ALRIGHT, time to get up." Hopper's voice woke Collie and she opened her eyes, immediately hit with a splitting headache.

  "Oh, Jesus!" she groaned, clutching her head as she threw the blanket off of her. Now that she was awake, she could feel the aching all throughout her body and the dryness in her mouth. But most of all, it felt as though someone were pounding her head with a hammer. "Oh my god..."

  "It's called a hangover, kid," said Hopper, raising an eyebrow as she looked up at him. Her hair was a mess and she was still in the same clothes from last night, but she felt drained, as though she'd used up all her energy.

  Collie licked her lips and sat on the edge of her bed, her head in her hands. The memories of the previous night hit her and she pulled in a shaky breath, trying to keep herself calm. Across the room, Eleven watched her from her own bed, curious as to why she was acting the way she was. There was a slight tension in the room, though Collie couldn't place it.

  "Come on, rise and shine," Hopper said, looking between the girls. As Collie groaned and slowly got to her feet, Eleven turned over to face away from him, huffing in anger.

  "What?" Collie asked, furrowing her brows. "What's wrong?" Eleven pointed to Hopper without looking back and answered dully,

  "Late." Hopper looked away as Collie rounded on him, despite her headache.

  "You were late last night?" she asked, taking a step closer. "You promised her you'd be home on time, Hopper!"

  "Yeah, well, so did you, and what did you do? You went out and got drunk and practically electrocuted an entire house," Hopper countered, narrowing his eyes. When Collie didn't reply, he shook his head and pinched his temple.

  "Look, just... we'll talk about it later." He turned to Eleven and sighed. "You gonna get up?" Eleven remained quiet. "So that's it, huh? You're still not talking?" Guilt wrapped around Collie as she looked at the young girl. She had promised she'd be home on time, and instead she'd gone and drank until she was numb.

  "Alright." Hopper looked out toward the dining room. "I guess I'm just going to have to, uh... enjoy this triple-decker Eggo extravaganza on my own." Collie perked up at his words; she only then realized how hungry she was.

  A few minutes later, Eleven and Collie watched Hopper cut an Eggo sandwich in half for them at the dining table, both silent. He gave them each a piece and Collie wolfed hers down in seconds, though Eleven slowly nibbled at her share.

  "Mmm! Good, right?" Hopper asked. "Know the great thing about it? It's only 8,000 calories." Though Collie cracked a smile between bites, Eleven's face remained still and cold as she stared at him.

  Avoiding eye contact, Hopper looked over and spotted the television cord trailing along the floor toward the bedroom. "You visited him again last night?" he asked, nodding to the cord. Collie glanced to it as well and her heart dropped a bit; she used it to see Mike every single day.