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˚ ₊ ♡ ❰ CRUEL SUMMER ❱
*✧ ─── ❝ ❪ WORD OF THE DAY ❫ ❞
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˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ SEASON THREE ☀️ ⁺⑅

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SUPER FREAKS SERIES ⋆ 🚲.
♯ ❝ THAT UH, THAT'S GREAT ! ❞
THE PROLOGUE ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
˚ ₊ ♡ 1985, june 29th ─── episode one
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       ONE COULD SAY THAT INNOCENCE CAN NOT BE REGAINED, BUT WHEN JIM HOPPER LOOKED AT THE CHILD LIKE WONDER on his son face when he tried his first Eggo with whipped cream all was good. With eyes gleaming and wild blonde strands of hair messed up by a good nights sleep, it looked like Milo had never endured the horrors of Hawkins Lab.

       All things good seemed to be a new experience for Milo, from television and cartoons to music and sweets. All was wonderous and new to the boy and a smile could be easily plastered on his face by the simplest things.

      Of course while the day was filled with gleeful things, the nights weren't always as kind— if they were even nightmares to begin with though.

     The Shadow Monster they had defeated only a couple months ago was still plaguing the Hopper boy from time to time, looming dangerously around Hawkins and making him scream bloody murderer into the dark night.

     And Jim was always there to calm him down— which was a stark contrast to his treatment at the lab where they just let him dwell with his haunted thoughts in the dark confinements of his room.

      But luckily when the Summer started, the nightmares seemed to stay with the Springtime, finally gifting to boy some peaceful dreams.

     By now, the evening had rolled around in Hawkins, and the sun slowly disappeared in the sea of orange and yellow hues and through the tree branches the last golden rays of sunshine shone down on the Hopper residence where the blonde was sitting on one of the rocking chairs outside.

     Jim smiled fondly through the window as he spotted the boy peacefully enjoying the soft summer breeze as he was reading some kind of book— one the chief couldn't make out from where he was standing. Closing the with flowers decorated curtain again, a small smile tugging at his lips instead of his usual annoyed and border line grim expression.

    Dropping down on the comfortable recliner, Jim leaned back and turned his focus back on the small tv where a movie was playing— or the credits of the movie by now much to his annoyance.

      Opening the can of beer by his side, Jim's watchful eyed turned towards Eleven's room where the girl had quietly retreated to after Mike finally left to go home—staying much, too much in his opinion longer than the other kids, only to also come back in the early morning again much to his chagrin.

     The creak of the front door opening braught him back from his thoughts to see Milo walking back inside, the large yellow shirt (— that once belonged to him ) was loosely hanging form his lanky frame as he smiled brightly in greeting, clutching his book to his chest.

     "Hey kid."

     "Hello." He replied timidly, shifting from one foot to the other nervously looking anywhere in the room but at him.

      Much to his annoyance, Jim, not having much social contact since he seperated with his wife and lived a very solitary life, was still a little rough around the edges with his conversational skills. And to add, Milo's limited interaction with anyone who wasn't some crazy scientist or plain bad guy didn't help their bond much either.

     "What are you reading?" Eager to fill the silence— well aside from the faint music coming from El's room, Jim was quick to throw the question at his son.

     Hesitating for a moment, probably to gather his thoughts and all the silly grammer rules he had been learning since Christmas. "I'm reading the, uh— dictonary." He answered after a beat, more awkward silence following.

     "That, uh, that's great."

       "Yeah..."

        Jim is screaming on the inside at the sight of Milo's awkwardness and his own. They were family, but after the initial shock of finding out his son was alive, and the crazy events of Will's possession had passed they finally had time to be together again. Only to find out that by missing out on so much time together they had become practically strangers.

    It pained him to have such a strained relationship with his son, and he was eager to spend more time with the boy as possible, knowing time had never really been a friend of him.

     He was determined to make this Summer count and finally regain a bond with his son.

       "Uh, why the dictonary? There are probably more— uh enjoyable things to read." Jim wonders, sitting up a bit straighter in his chair when Milo sits down across from him instead of disappearing to his room to escape the conversation like he usually did nowadays.

      Jim wants to blame the teenage phase, but he knows it's more than that.

      "To learn." Milo shrugs casually, " I like learning."

       Jim smiles at that, and soon the blonde teen follows and they settle in a more comfortable silence. The chief turns back to focus on the television while Milo directs his eyes back to the book in his hands.

       Minutes pass by, and it isn't until Eleven emerged from her room that their attention leave their respective activites to focus on the youngest family member.

      The large green flannel (— also a hand me down from Jim ) covering her tiny frame as she walked over to them and falls down in the seat next to Milo, leaning her head against the boy's shoulder.

      Milo smiled at her and she smiled at him. "Are you haggared?" He wondered out loud.

    Eleven'a brows furrowed at the strange word and even Jim looks up, surprised at the choice of words all the while Milo proudly grins.

    "What?"

      "It means tired." Milo explained happily, "The word of the day." He continues, pointing at the calender hanging on the wall across from them next to the many picture frames.

    Jim chuckles, shaking his head before focusing back on the television while Eleven turned towards the blonde.

     "A little bit." She admits quietly, the party had been over today to plan the surprise welcome back party for Dustin after the curly haired boy had been to some sort of science camp over the duration of the first weeks of Summer.

      "Maybe you should go to bed?" Milo suggested but all El did was snuggle closer to him and close her eyes contendly.

     Milo didn't protest and tried to stay as still as possible and averted his eyes to look at the television, the sounds lulling not only Eleven but himself as well to a peaceful slumber in a matter of minutes.

       And as the two kids soundly slept, Jim carefully drapped a knitted duvet over their bodies before turning the television off and retreating to his own room, a fond smile on his face as glanced over his shoulder one last time before closing the door behind him.

      He knew, right then, it would be one of the first great Summers the Hopper family had seen in a long time.