The Learning Curve - Jim Hopper x Reader

i. Trouble

They both nodded passively, their eyes filling with an emotion she had grown tired of over the past few years. Sympathy was not something she encouraged; she believed that it only highlighted weaknesses. Was it healthy? Perhaps not.

"It's okay," she butted in, shaking them from the awkward silence that grew thick in between. "He lived a really amazing life, and, honestly, I'm just happy that he's not in pain anymore."

"I'll drink to that," Steve smiled, reaching forward to place his hand on her shoulder. "You know, if you can buy the drinks. I'm not old enough for that."

Holly laughed, thankful for the levity that her new friend brought into the conversation. Robin smiled, reaching for her wallet and car keys before jingling them to her friends.

"Not to get too ahead of myself, but I am absolutely starved," she chuckled, hopping off of the bed. "You like pizza, Holly?"

"It's a part of the major food groups, how could I not?" she teased, standing up before grabbing her own purse off of her bed.

"Pizza it is, chaps," Steve chirped, leading the charge out of the residence building, the two girls following closely behind him as he walked to Robin's minivan.

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The newly-formed trio spent the next two hours laughing and sharing stories over two pizzas, the awkwardness that came with introductions quickly fading as the meal went on. Holly learned that Robin was a vegetarian and Steve loved bacon on pretty much anything that was edible. Holly nearly caused an uproar at the table when she ordered a traditional Hawaiian pizza, the other two declaring that pineapples be damned from the culinary circuit all together. The entire gathering was relentlessly wholesome, the sun even coming out and shining brightly as their new bond of friendship was formed.

Holly couldn't recall the last time that she had spent this much time with people who weren't her family; it surely had been in the later part of her high school experience, but she couldn't pinpoint an exact moment when. She never opened herself up to other people after her dad fell ill, and it was nice for her to finally be able to escape from that part of her reality, even if it was only for two hours.

After they returned to the dorms, Holly hopped onto her bright blue Huffy Cruiser, waving to the duo before biking across campus. She looked down at her tan wristwatch, smiling when she realized that she still had some time to kill before her advising appointment. The campus wasn't overwhelmingly large, but she still took the opportunity to take in the environment as she followed the map attached to the brown wicker basket attached to her bike handles.

The sun's rays reflected off of her sun-kissed skin, a picturesque image of a back-to-school advertisement. The curls of her ponytail twirled in the wind, her side bang and baby hairs releasing from their hold. She inhaled sharply, the scent of the flowers lining the walkway filling her nose. Her sinus passages would surely feel it in the morning, but, for now, she allowed herself to bask in the foliage and dry weather, a sharp contrast from her humid home down in south.

She pulled up to a tall, red and brown brick building, attaching her bike lock around her Huffy and a pole before de-straddling the bike seat, her white TOMs hitting the pavement with a tiny thud.

It wasn't as if she hadn't seen the building before. Her and her mom had come a few months prior to take a tour of the campus, something that quickly ended with Holly's final decision to attend. It felt like a welcome change, something that somewhat resembled the comfort of home without duplicating its appearance. She took her phone out of her pocket, sifting through her emails before coming upon the confirmation for her appointment. She ensured the direction she was headed before entering the elevator, pressing a yellow button with the number 6 emblazoned on its hard plastic surface.