A/N: Aaaaaaand I'm back. I have a few chapters already written that I'm going to pop into an edit and then they'll up as well. Thank you for your patience <3
-B
Chapter 18:
Jim Hopper was not a docile man, nor was he easily persuaded, but it had been several days since he had eaten -or smoked- and the growl that rumbled from his belly sounded angry and demanding enough that he felt like caving. Weeks shackled to a wall in someone's dingy basement had taken a toll on him.
Like every day, when the sun blinded him from the lone basement window, he thought back to his daughter. Often he thought about how, on that fateful evening when he was abducted, Jane was dancing with her new friends. He wished he was home when she returned and it broke his heart that she had to go home to it being empty; much less from him to not return at all.
A door slammed upstairs catching his weary attention, followed by heavy footsteps on the hardwood flooring leading to the basement door. A lock on the door jingled as if whoever was trying to unlock it was struggling with it, but soon the door cracked open, and jostled on it's hinges from the force.
"Jimmy!" greeted a man who Jim had become all too familiar with in the past couple weeks; his ugly sneer ingrained into the cop's mind.
As the man approached like they were old friends, Jim scanned his appearance, trying to memorize every inch for when he could arrest him. Jim was hungry and missed his family, so he worked to hold his tongue, especially because he had learned the hard way to keep the snide remarks to himself. He just didn't feel like getting hurt today.
Jim simply nodded in response, ignoring the soreness of his neck, watching the wild man in front of him with tired eyes. He desperately needed food, soon, or his stomach would start to eat him from the inside out.
"Awe Jimmy boy, you hungry?" the man asked with a raspy voice that suggested he consumed more nicotine than oxygen.
Jim's belly groaned loudly in response, rousing a dry smirk from his captor; his dull grey eyes flashed with predatorial excitement. There had been a few people to visit him in his basement jail cell, mostly just to drop nearly inedible food near his crossed legs, but none more sadistic than this one.
The man, who Jim had known as Riley, turned around to a bag he had brought down stairs, his ugly long stings of hair swayed like uncooked noodles on his shoulders. When he faced the cop once again, he lifted a bag of old bread and a carton of coffee creamer, his eyes large and wild.
And while it wasn't much, Hop's sense of self-preservation had been thrown out the tiny window, and suddenly he was ravenous . His mouth watered at the slight smell of the food, and he couldn't bring himself to care if it was stale or passed it's due date.
"Piggy hungry?" Riley asked in a mocking tone, his expression in faux concern, and opened the bagged loaf to sniff the contents. His nose wrinkled and his brows drew in as he scowled.
At the mercy of his belly, Hopper nodded, making Riley's sneer grow into a Cheshire-like grin.
"Sorry," Riley picked the butt-end of the loaf from the bag. "What was that?" he asked the cop, and popped the whole slice into his mouth, not without struggle. Jim watched the action open mouthed.
"Pl-please," Jim begged, his voice sounding like sandpaper. "I'm...I'm so h-hungry".
Riley's mouth stretched further, if even possible, and his eyes glinted in excitement, "Yeah, I bet!"
Had hopper been in good health, he would have never let someone toy with him like this, and it killed a part of him to picture himself like this. But he wasn't. And it was that fact that had the little bits of hope he'd been gipping to, slipping through his fingers.
How was he supposed to protect his new family, if he couldn't even protect himself from a measly kidnapping?
"Riley," Hop croaked, his throat beginning to burn. "Please".
The captor bent down to look Hopper in the eye, letting a wicket chuckle fill the silence, and slowly removed the loaf from it'd grocery bag. Hopper held eye contact, using up what strength he had left on defiance.
"Here you go buddy," Riley taunted, leaning down to set the carton and loaf on the dusty concrete basement floor, just in front of the cop's crossed legs.
Hopper let his gaze fall to the food, ignoring the embarrassment that threatened to rear it's ugly head. This was no time for him to lament about his unlucky situation. Letting his dried mouth relish with fresh saliva.
However, as fate would have it, Riley's games had no end. What a sick fucking joke, he thought to himself. With the way his arms had been chained above his head, so uncomfortably tight fitted against the musty basement wall, there was no way for him to eat.
"You b-bastard," Jim ground out, feeling the skin on his lips pull tight as he spoke.
Riley chuckled lightly to himself, then stood upright from his bent position, where he'd been watching. Jim could only grow more frustrated as he realized all too slowly that the man had no intention of helping him eat; just as his cohorts had done previously.
"Well piggy, duty calls," he said tossing his hand upwards and to the side, as if he didn't just screw the cop over, then retreated to the basement stairs like an ugly rat. He paused, waved to his hostage, then hopped up the steps.
Jim had decided long ago that he hated that guy, but he had only just came to the conclusion that he would wring Riley's neck once he was free. His body yearned for the discarded food between his legs, but his heart yearned to be home with his daughter. He would push himself to see her at least one last time, even if it killed him.
While the basketball game ended in success, Steve now had new things to worry about, matters he wasn't ready to address quite yet. He wished he could have still kept his little plans a secret. With others involved, his plans might be re-directed, or worse, cancelled. And he couldn't help the ugly feeling that festered in his belly.
Nancy hadn't spoke to him since approaching her ex after his game and only once every one was sat, almost against their will, in Steve's home did she have some words to say. In fact, in Steve's opinion, it was like actually having his mother chastise him.
Nancy stood in front of Steve, glaring down at him, as he sat on the couch next to Billy. Steve had chewed on his bottom lip so much he has created a sore and Billy had lit his second smoke, despite Steve telling him not to in his house. Billy's leg has been bouncing furiously since he'd entered the Harrington residence.
"So you just thought that doing this without the rest of us was a good idea?" she asked, her hands on her hips and her mouth downturned.
Steve's living room was silent, regardless of the gaggle of children with whom he could feel were vibrating with anticipation, aside from the fabric of Billy's jeans rustling with every fidget. And while impulsive, the middle-schoolers composed themselves for the most part. They watched Steve and Nancy with owlish eyes.
Steve blocked everyone out of his consciousness, aside from Nancy, and allowed himself to be consumed by her angry gaze. He had known that, by leaving her out of the loop and having her find out from someone else, he'd be a heap of trouble. But a part of him argued that, her assuming he'd let her in on everything in his life, felt a little presumptuous.
Sure, he had helped to rid Hawkins of alien entities, and of course, she had mostly kept him informed; well, after quite some time. But they were not together, he did not owe her all the details of his life. Even with regards to The Upside Down.
"Well?" Nancy asked, clearly growing irritated the longer he stared at her, contemplating what he should or shouldn't say.
Steve noticed one of the kids shift uncomfortably in his peripherals, breaking his focus on his ex, and willed all of his courage to respond in a matter that wouldn't set her off, "I was given orders, Nance".
"By Hopper, right?" she asked, almost instantly like she had suspected it, like he was always a few steps behind her.
After a moment of working his jaw, Steve nodded.
"Steve," She sighed, her resolve slipped slightly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Hopper is just like you when it comes to endangering others. He'd rather bottle it up and deal with it himself, and look where that got him!"
He winced, suddenly more uncomfortable than he was before, and he noticed that the kids had grown still. Nancy's words had cut, the severity of their situation piercing Steve's chest. And maybe Nancy regretted what she'd said, especially with the kids present, as her expression twisted just after she had spoken.
Steve took a deep breath, allowing a shiver to claw itself up his spine, "I know, I'm sorry. But, I really didn't know what to do yet".
Nancy's tough demeanor crumbled as she dropped to her knees in front of her ex-boyfriend, her usually neat, chestnut curls sprung in messy coils around her angled jaw. Desperation overtook her youthful face as she regarded him.
Watching in sudden discomfort, both Johnathan and Billy shifted where they sat, as the two got unnaturally close for ex-lovers. Although, Billy found himself confused as to why that was his reaction, he chose to chase that thought from his mind.
"Please," Nancy whispered, her eyes downcast. "Don't try to do everything by yourself".
Steve gulped and his brows crinkled together. He hadn't seen her like this in a long time, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. Sure, they were friends now, but they used to be lovers, and he used to work so hard to keep her from looking this way. In fact, the last time he'd seen her this way, was when she had broken up with him.
He wanted her happy, and he never seemed to able to do it.
So he cracked a easy boyish grin, one he hadn't used in a long while, and leaned forward invading her personal space, "Nance, you worry too much".
She huffed out an exasperated sigh, her lips finally turning upward, and her expression eased even further. And, after a moment of what Steve recognized as Nancy recollecting herself, she lightly and playfully slapped his leg
"Oh for Pete sake, Steve, please take me seriously!" She giggled.
"Yeah, okay love-birds," Billy broke into their conversation, waving his hand between the two and catching their attention, looking annoyed. Both Steve and Nancy snapped their attention to him, then the rest of the group, realizing that they had forgotten they weren't alone. A blush kept up both their cheeks like children getting caught not listening to their mothers.
"Okay..." Mike said awkwardly, standing from the other sofa, making Dustin and El dip into each other. "So, now that we got...that out of the way, shall we make a plan?"
Steve and Nancy looked at each other, newfound determination ignited in their chests, once more before nodding; they were going to find Hopper and stop this ongoing mystery, once and for all.
The whole group had agreed that jumping into action without enough information was not a good idea, that much, Steve could agree with. After reading out the notes Hopper had sent him, which had been hidden in his parents safe, Nancy and Eleven analyzed the writing to see if he had hidden anything else that even Steve couldn't recognize. Unfortunately, they hadn't found anything that stood out enough to be a lead, but Nancy requested that they keep the notes safe, just in case.
Eleven vocalized that she was going to use any power she had to find more clues, which for some reason made Mike go stiff, and then mentioned that a trip to the cabin where Hopper had been keeping her was much needed. Apparently, it had been too long since she had re-visited her would-be home, and that made Steve happy to hear. At least they hadn't stupid enough to return without help.
Steve-being the overprotective leader- made a smaller team to go to the cabin, alone, leaving the rest to tune in with their radios. There was no way in hell he was about to let his friends go into unknown territory just for the heck of it! If it where purely up to him, it would be him going in alone, with everyone safe in Hawkins.
"C'mon Harrington," Dustin whined in the back seat of Steve's car as they drove around town to drop the kids off, earning an annoyed look from everyone else in the car. "I wanna help you!"
Steve scowled, glaring at the young boy through the rear-view mirror, ignoring the way Billy -who sat in the passenger seat- rolled the window down for the second time to light a smoke. Luckily the chilly winter air was welcome as the inside of the car was too warm for Steve's liking.
"Kid, you gotta stay here and protect the others in case somethin' happens," Steve sighed. The only way he knew to make the kids understand was to make them feel like their job of staying safe was as equally important.
"But Steve, we have stupid jobs," Lucas, who sat beside Dustin pouted, finally finding the courage to pipe up. Steve had to hold back an eye roll as he realized what was actually happening. He finally caught the two boys eyeing their new female team member, as if they were posturing.
"No, ifs, ands, or butts, do you two meat heats understand?" Steve barked, no longer willing to appease to their who's-better game. The two deflated, defeated scowls on their younger faces.
The object of their feelings watched her older brother's back as he sat in front of her smoking like a chimney, a weird feeling settled in her stomach like a rock in water. She had become increasingly nervous about him being part of the team, but now as he sat in undefinable silence, her worries increased. He was never silent unless his mind was too loud.
For once he wasn't in the driver seat of his own car, as they had all gone with Steve after the game, and for some odd reason he didn't complain about being in someone's passenger side. Which, in itself, was enough for Max's world to tip on it's axis.
She knew him to be reckless and just on the verge of exploding, she knew first-handed the kind of person he was, and his connection with Steve Harrington felt weird and different. Almost like the beast was on the road to being tamed. She had noticed, the few times she'd seen the two together, a kind of energy, but she couldn't decide if it was bad or not.
She could see her brother's face through the side mirror of Steve's vehicle, he looked upset, and confused, and stressed all in one, but then she saw him glance sideways at Steve from the corner of his eye. His face softened slightly, and his shoulders seemed to drop, like the weight of his world suddenly became a little lighter.
Her eyes widened as she had never seen such an expression on her brother, and began to wonder, what was happening to him that he'd show warmth to some guy he barely knew. Much less a guy that he had beat the crap out of.