Christmas was—in a word—interesting.
Teresa never really used to pay attention to headlines and newspapers and whatever else, but perhaps that was because she had a deep hatred for the way journalism seemed to make so many things into a sensation. She had a respect for the way some journalist fought for freedom of speech, and showing the general public just how corrupt some parts of the system were, but having been a product of the criminal side, she knew full well a lot of journalists were good at colouring outside the lines. That is to say; embellish the truth.
On the second day of Christmas, Jim Hopper got his jailbird daughter.
Having been such a sensation for a solid few months during her last relationship that included drama from family issues to sex scandals, she already felt like she was a product of lazy writing. Hell, when she was released and bumped into an old classmate on the beach, she could practically feel them watching her the same way she imagined movie stars were watched in public.
Except it was not for a good reason at all.
Admiration was so far from Teresa's vocabulary when it came to describing others' attention, that she'd given up on it. Of course, that thinking changed when El was introduced to her life, since she knew she couldn't be a bad role model to the girl. There were too many reminders of the type of sister she was to Sarah, and what exactly this girl deserved. It sure as hell was infinitely better than that lab she was stuck in for the first twelve years of her life.
Knowing full well that El needed to be a kid, Teresa herself found pleasure in giving her a sort of— movie education.
Family Video was the first public space she was spotted alone. It was in the small shop that she realised just how entertaining the small town mindset was.
"California. Did you hear? The chief's ex-wife really wanted to get away from him."
Perhaps it was the mentality, or perhaps it was just a testament for how boring Hawkins was to some people, but no one was quiet about their opinions on her return.
"Why the hell would she want to come back here?"
There was one group, however, who were more than relieved to have the talk of the town switch.
"Fresh out of juvie, and she comes to Hawkins?"
Talk about Will and the Byers disappeared almost overnight. It seemed as if everyone was just waiting for the green Range Rover to glide into the station's parking space. Everyone picked up on the familial connection, on the dangerous background story, and everyone ran with it. Even if it gave the group involved in Will's rescue a reason to breathe, it didn't help the conscience of a newly reformed Steve Harrington in becoming a 'better person'. The same person he thought Nancy deserved, and who he truly wanted to be.
"Teresa Hopper. Ugh, even her name—what a hoser."
Nancy didn't need to look up from the tape in her hand to notice the way Steve's fist clenched and jaw tensed. Almost reflexively, she reached her free hand to his arm, and her boyfriend immediately pulled her into his side. The immediate reactions from both of them had been built up through a lot of conversations about the events of November, but they were both appreciative of the changes.
None more than Steve, who was still a little surprised that Nancy Wheeler gave him another chance.
"I don't know, an ass like that?" Tommy Hagan laughed over the sound of the bell, arm around Carol's shoulders much the same way as Steve had his around Nancy. "Even as a Hopper, she can pull it off."
The next sound was a resounding smack to his jacket from his girlfriend, who still let out giggles. The bell rang as the door closed behind the newest customer, and even Steve and Nancy looked up. A silence fell along the store, one that had followed the same girl since she first popped up.
"You attached to your fingers?" the girl asked, completely disregarding the eerie quiet that was only filled with the low and slightly muffled sounds of Bob Seger.
Tommy took a moment to think, before he let out an incredulous laugh, Carol soon joining. "What?"
"I think your girlfriend probably likes having your fingers attached to your hands. So unless you want me to attach them to your own ass, I recommend not talking about mine," Teresa flashed them a smile, before she took a smooth step around them, and left the couple behind.
The store stayed quiet, but her hands had already raised to put her headphones back on, yellow foam standing out against the dark blue of her cap and the brown of her hair. Tommy and Carol took another moment before they called back something unnecessary, but the girl was already deep into the easy watch section of the films. Pretty soon, the bell above them rang again as they left.
Nancy in particular had let out a breath of relief as they disappeared into the parking lot. She wasn't really sure how Steve ever became friends with those two, and that knowledge had made her miss Jonathan's company often. But mostly, she enjoyed Steve as a distraction. He was doing his best to make up for his mistakes in November, and she couldn't deny he was doing a good job. Better than she'd expected.
"God, I'm so sorry!" Amidst her thoughts, Nancy had completely missed her surroundings.
Her exclamation got the attention of Steve, who immediately got down on the floor, picking up the few tapes the two girls had knocked from the shelf. He spotted a bandaid covered hand reaching for ET right in front of him, and he pushed his hair back, following the arm all the way up to the pair of blue eyes that had held his attention a few days ago. He apologised with Nancy again, getting a small chuckle from Teresa in response.
"Totally my fault, don't worry," she smiled, her voice much more light now that he wasn't chewing out Tommy Hagan for his roving eyes.
"I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, I'm so sorry," Nancy apologised again, the three of them standing up with the knocked off tapes in their hands, trying to stack the right ones back on the shelves in a bit of an awkward shuffle.
"Really, it's okay. I should be apologising," Teresa smile, managing to place the top row back in order. "You guys in one piece?"
"Yeah, no harm," Steve spoke, taking Nancy's hand to calm her down. He almost reflexively put on the same King Steve smile he'd perfected in public, but holding Nance's hand made him pause.
"Great," Teresa gave them a polite smile, moving to pass by the couple.
"Hey, you're—" he called, Nancy giving his hand a squeeze to do so. "You're Teresa, right? Hopper?" he finally asked, attempting not to head butt the tape in his hands for the stupid question.
"That's me," she chuckled, turning back to them both. "Reese. You're uh— You guys are Nancy and Steve, right? Jonathan's friends?"
"Jonathan—"
"Yeah," Nancy replied, her smile widening at the idea that they already had something in common. "You know Jonathan?"
Reese's eyebrow quirked, a small smile blooming across her face as she nodded. "Yeah, I used to be watched by his parents when I was a kid."
"Oh, right, yeah, Mrs Byers," Nancy smiled.
"He mentioned you guys were helpful with his brother. Mentioned you guys by name, and Will didn't really shut up about Mike while I was there," Reese added, the couple freezing a little at the knowledge of how Jonathan had to hide the events of November. Just their immediate reaction made Teresa nod, confirming her thoughts that the teens were much more involved than Jim had explained.
"That was—"
"Not great," Reese nodded. "Don't need to talk about it. Dad explained it was like being back in the city, and I just left that, so I understand," she turned her whole body towards them, feeling that the conversation would stretch on a little.
Noting how their posture relaxed at her dismissal of the topic, she shot them a small smile, before Steve opened his mouth.
"How are you finding being back?"
The question surprised her, knowing just how much she stuck out in the town, and how little people actually cared about her. Other than Joyce, she wasn't aware of anyone actually asking yet.
"I kind of just forgot how small this place really was," she was the one to laugh nervously this time, lifting her cap and pushing her hair from her eyes, revealing the scar in her eyebrow, which was no longer covered by a bandaid, but was still pink. Steve recognised the bandaid over her nose, but her nose was somehow less crooked. Perhaps it was because it was less swollen. "Seems like everyone knows more about me than I do."
"I guess that's just life in a place like Hawkins," Nancy smiled sadly, but Teresa's shoulders immediately lifted into a shrug.
"Yeah, I guess so," she chuckled. "Funny, though, I somehow find myself knowing exactly where everything is. Didn't expect that."
Steve couldn't help the quiet laugh that escaped, but he managed to cover it up with a question. "Movie night tonight?" he asked, nodding to the tape of ET in her hand.
"Oh," she glanced down, staring at the cover, "Yeah, kind of, although I would call it a movie education more than anything," she said in a way that made Steve and Nancy believe there was some other meaning in her words. "The Chief said I could choose, which I don't think he thought through because he has no idea what kind of movies I like. I thought I'd go easy on him. He's not gonna kill me for science-fiction, will he?" she scratched at the back of her neck.
They didn't have the heart to tell her. Instead, the couple gave her slightly strained, as if overly practiced smiles.
"Let's hope not."
"Yeah, otherwise you guys will be out a police chief," she shrugged, looking down at the video, and making Nancy squeeze Steve's hand again.
"Are you— Are you starting at the high school next month?" he asked, hoping to maybe not end the conversation on an awkward note.
"Oh, yeah," she nodded, "Unless they decide I'm too dangerous for the classroom, I should be set."
It would be a lie to say Teresa wasn't a little apprehensive about the conversation. Mostly because she knew the couple had been involved in the events of November, and she didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.
On top of that, so many people had looked at her with that specific 'you don't belong here' glare, and she was a little confused as to why these two were adamant in talking to her.
"Dangerous?" Teresa gave them both a look, a small smile playing on her lips as she waited for him to stop playing stupid. "Yeah, all right, that's a fair point," he admitted, even Nancy smiling softly.
"Nice try," she told him with a slightly teasing tone, eliciting a chuckle from the other girl.
"I'm sure my threat to that guy didn't help my case, but I appreciate you guys not tiptoeing around me like everyone else," she picked at the cover of the tape a little, much like she picked at her nails when she sat with Jim. "I'm uh— I'm gonna pay for this. But it was nice to meet you both properly, I guess?" she gave a nervous smile turning to walk off, when Nancy's voice made her turn around again.
"Are you going into sophomore year?"
"No, junior. I studied in juvie and they accepted my credits."
She still had an incredibly casual tone when she said the word, the couple unsure how to answer. What was the right way to reply? Jesus, their parents would kill them if they knew what they were doing. Well, Steve's probably, maybe not Nancy's.
Reese could practically feel their inner turmoil, and she had to hold back a laugh. Lifting her free hand, she drew a cross over her collarbone, shooting them a smile. "I didn't kill anyone. Cross my heart."
Not wanting to give them any more time for their anxiety or nerves to keep building, she turned away, approaching the counter. Steve nodded, way too late once she'd left, and immediately felt stupid, but there wasn't much he could do. Nancy let out a quiet laugh, getting pulled into his side before his lips landed on the top of her head to shush her in her teasing.
Teresa Hopper was nothing like either of them had expected.