chapter seventeen , Say No To Snow

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Hopper lets out a grumble of curse words as he rushes down the hall. "Gus, you've gotta get up--we're both running late!"

Hopper knocks on her door and then opens it. His eyes land on the body in the bed. He rolls his eyes and flicks the light on. "Gus."

Gus doesn't move an inch, she just continues to snore with her mouth hanging open. Hopper wrinkles his nose, seeing the drool coming from Gus' mouth. "August!"

A small groan leaves her lips and she puts her pillow over her head. "Gus, you're late for school."

"I don't feel good." Gus takes the pillow off her head.

"Bullshit."

"I'm not lying!" Gus exclaims, and she shoots up. "Why would I lie?" she shrugs her shoulders.

Hopper folds his arms and Gus laughs, "Okay, I'm lying."

Gus stretches, "But, what if I told you...I don't want to go to school today?"

Hopper inhales a breath, pretending to think hard. "Then, I would tell you. I don't care, you have to go anyway..."

"But--"

"Because you just got your grades up and I need you to keep them up."

"And I will." Gus nods her head. "With...some extra sleep."

"Come on, kid. Do you really wanna repeat this year?" Hopper asks.

Gus' eyes widen, "I'll be ready in 10." she hops off the bed and runs to the bathroom.

Hopper smiles triumphantly and heads back to his room. After they both were ready for the day, Hopper dropped Gus off at school. Once Hopper went to the Sheriff's Station he was talking to Callahan and Powell.

"How about that snow, huh?" Callahan sips his coffee.

Hopper raises his brows, "You really don't have anything else to talk about?"

"What's wrong with talking about the weather?" Callahan bunches his shoulders.

"That weather is wild." Powell points his donut at Hopper.

"I guess, that's why the school's shut down today." Callahan shrugs.

Hopper stops before he takes a bite out of his donut. "I'm sorry--what?"

Powell and Callahan look at Hopper.

"The kids got a snow day today," Powell states. "Gus, must be happy about that, huh? She's able to sleep in--"

Hopper shoots up from his seat and grabs his jacket.

"Where are you going?" Callahan asks.

"Uh--for a jog," Hopper says, he grabs a handful of donuts, and sprints toward the door.

"You dropped her off at the school, didn't you?" Flo lowers her head so she could look at Hopper from over her glasses.

Hopper smiles bashfully and bunches his shoulders. "Oops?"

Flo tilts her head to the side. "Well, I'm sorry, but you've got a long line of people wanting to file reports."

"About what?" Hopper holds his arms out.

"Black ice. Everyone keeps crashing into one another." Flo explains.

"But, my kid is out there--"

"I'm sorry, Chief, you're gonna have to get someone else to pick her up."

Hopper runs a hand through his hair and lets out a stress-filled breath. Who the hell is going to want to drive through the snow to pick up Gus?

...

Gus' was sitting at the steps of Hawkins High school with her arms folded and her body trembling, while her teeth were chattering against one another. Her puffed hoodie was hanging over her eyes and her beanie was covering her ears. Gus had her black fingerless winter gloves on. Her knees were pulled close to her chest and she inhales a shaky breath. The icy wind hits her teeth and she tenses.

"Holy shit." Gus huffs, cold breath leaving her lips. "I knew I should've stayed asleep...goddammit."

A screech is heard and Gus snaps her eyes up, seeing the familiar car approaching the school. The convertible was zooming towards the parking lot and Gus laughs softly. "What the hell...?"

The truck abruptly stops while drifting to the side. The window rolls down, revealing the brunette boy. rolls down the window, "HI!!!" he shouts from over the wind and snow.

Gus quickly stands up and rushes toward the car. "Hey." the brunette opens the door and hops into the car. Gus immediately feels her spine tingle from the heat on full blast. She sinks into her seat and lets out a soft breath.

"So, Hopper called me." Steve looks at Gus. He then looks back at the steering wheel and lightly taps on it. "And...I couldn't understand him at first because of how fast he was talking. Then he said your name and I just--freaked out! So, I got here as fast as I could. Well, not really all that fast because there is black ice everywhere! I'm telling you the roads are a death trap now and..." Steve finally starts to trail off his nervous ramblings, noticing Gus was staring at him the entire time with a warm smile. Her face was flushed from sitting out in the cold weather and her body was still shaking, but she was smiling.

Steve slightly opens his mouth and his heart rate quickens. "But, are you...you're okay, right?"

Gus rolls her lips into her mouth and she slowly nods her head. "I'm getting there."

Steve lets out a soft chuckle, "Do you...need anything like--at all?"

"Are your parents home?"

Steve's eyes blow wide, "I-I'm sorry?"

"I want hot cocoa. Do you have some at your house?" Gus inquires, raising her brows.

"Oh. Yeah, definitely."

Gus nods her head and buckles her seatbelt. "Cool, because I really need some right now."

"Also, it's funny seeing you ramble," Gus says as Steve drives away from the school.

Steve glances at the brunette and her eyes were still on him.

"Never seen it before." Gus looks away from the boy.

Steve inhales, "Yeah, I guess I picked a few things up from you."

"Who hasn't?" Gus snorts. "I am very influential."

Once they got to Steve's house, the boy immediately turned the heat on and gave Gus a warm fuzzy blanket. She sat at the kitchen table while Steve made the hot chocolate.

"As much as I enjoy your company..." Steve walks over to the table and sets the mug in front of the brunette. "...why'd you want to come over?"

"Do you and the Chief not have hot chocolate at your house or something?" Steve sits in front of her.

"We do not have hot chocolate," Gus confirms and takes a small sip. "But, I also wanted to worry him a bit. See if he does that panicky thing that you did earlier."

Steve raises his brows. "You do realize that I'm still on thin ice with the Chief, right? After you broke your curfew."

Gus inhales a breath, "I'm pretty sure, Hopper was more pissed about me being high than me breaking curfew."

Steve scratches the side of his neck. "He must hate me."

"You know if he did hate you...he wouldn't have called you." Gus tilts her head.

"Actually, he said 'even though I don't like you, Fallon's mom isn't allowing her out right now. So, you're my 'last resort'." Steve mimics in a raspy hoarse voice.

Gus laughs and she covers her mouth. "That didn't sound like Hopper. But, that was...entertaining." She bites her lower lip.

The brunette looks around the house. "How long have your parents been gone?"

"Uh..." Steve sputters his lips. "About 2 weeks, maybe?"

Gus chews the inside of her cheek. "That sucks."

"Yeah, you're telling me." Steve chuckles, but it just came off like he was sad.

Gus' eyes soften and she rolls her lips into her mouth. "Do you wanna watch a movie?"

Steve looks at Gus, "Do you really want to do that? We never have luck with movies."

Gus snorts, "Well, you know what the day third times the charm." She shrugs.

"Okay, well, what movie did you have in mind?" Steve presses his arms against the table and slightly leans forward.

Gus inhales and presses her lips together. "How about, oh I don't know...Star Wars: A New Hope?—"

"Oh, My—"

"Last time we saw each other, you didn't watch it—"

"Guster, it's so long." Steve places his hands against his face and slides them down his face.

"What? It's an hour and fourth five minutes!" Gus cranes her neck forward. "It's not that long."

"Oh, come on—"

"Oh, what's that, Harrington?" Gus cups her ear. "Did you say, 'First Step to Forgiveness'?"

Steve slumps his shoulders and Gus taps her fingernails against the table, waiting patiently. He rubs his neck and quietly groans. As much as Steve didn't want to sit through this movie, he didn't mind sitting through it with Gus. He lets out a soft breath and raises a hand.

"All right, screw it. Let's watch Star Wars."

Gus balls her hands into fists and lets out an excited squeal. She then pats her hands on the table and points at the boy.

"Get the popcorn."

☆

Steve watches the credits roll and the TV flicks off. Gus turns to him and smiles. "So...?"

Steve raises his brows. "Well, it was...long, like I said."

Gus' mouth hangs open. "Are you shitting me?"

Steve holds his hands up, "Hey, the fights were cool--"

"Of course, the fights were cool!" Gus exclaims.

Steve smiles at Gus' excitement. "What about the plot?" the girl inquires.

Steve blinks, "Uh, what...about the plot?"

Gus touches her neck and exhales a sharp breath. "I cannot believe this."

"It was hard to pay attention." Steve shrugs. "A lot was going on."

"We're gonna have to watch it again." Gus grabs the remote.

Steve's eyes widen and he reaches for the remote. Before he could get in the brunette's vicinity, her eyes widen, and she lets go of the remote. Steve grabs the remote and turns the tv off. The brunette inhales a breath, "I should...get home." she gets off the couch.

Steve watches Gus slip her boots on and he slumps his shoulders. "Oh, yeah. Hopper's probably getting worried, huh?"

Gus lets out a soft chuckle and slips her puffer coat on. "That's the plan." she runs a hand through her hair and zips her jacket up. Steve stands up and puts his shoes on as well.

"So, does the Chief really hate me?" Steve asks.

"I mean..." Gus winces and looks at the boy. "...yeah. Sorry."

Gus watches Steve's expression fall and he looks at the ground. Steve knows how important Hopper was to Gus. Since Gus and Steve became friends again, Steve has been trying to get on Hopper's good side. But, Hopper was a hard man to please, especially when it came to Steve Harrington.

"Well, I guess I know what my life plan is going to be." Steve sighs. He walks over to the door and opens it for the brunette.

"Yeah? And what's that?" Gus asks, walking over to him.

Steve looks at the brunette and she raises her brows as he smirks.

"To get your dad to like me."

Gus raises her brows and she walks out of the house. Hearing other people call Hopper her father was something she could get used to.

...

Hopper paces the house back and forth. He was nervous, of course, he was. He has had this decision in his mind for so long. But there would be times, he would wimp out, and just sweep it under the rug. But this time was going to be the moment. He wasn't going to freak out. The door opens, revealing the brunette covered in snow.

"It's snowing cat and dogs out there!" Gus exclaims, she then starts to laugh. "I am too funny." she looks at Hopper. "It's okay, you can say that I'm too funny."

Hopper doesn't speak and Gus' shoulders slump.

"I'm sorry that I didn't come straight." Gus kicks her boots against the doorframe, knocking the snow off. She steps on the mat in front of the door and closes the door behind her. "I wanted hot chocolate and I knew that we forgot some when went to the store Monday and I was kinda freezing if you didn't forget."

Gus takes her puffy jacket off and hangs it on the rack. "So, what's my punishment?" she turns to Hopper while taking off her scarf.

"I...got you something," Hopper speaks with hesitance.

Gus pulls her brows together, "A torture device?"

"Gus--"

"I'm kidding." Gus snorts. "What is it?"

Hopper motions his head to the kitchen counter. "It's in that box."

Gus purses her lips and quietly hums. "A part of me still thinks it's something tortury." she walks over to the counter. The brunette raises her brows, seeing the pink bow on the box. "A present? It's not even my birthday?" she lets out a soft chuckle.

"I would say it's a present. And I wanted to do this." Hopper states.

Gus looks at the nervous man and slightly tilts her chin up. "Okay...you do realize that you're sweating like crazy, right?" she winces. "Do you need to spend an hour outside or--"

"I just need you to open the box, Gus?" Hopper lets out a breath.

Gus smiles, knowing she was finally getting on Hopper's nose. "There's our electric dynamic. It was weird having you nervous."

Hopper softly chuckles and rolls his eyes. Gus opens the box, revealing papers and a blue hair tie. The brunette freezes and her eyes shift from the papers to the hair tie. Gus snaps her eyes over to Hopper's wrist and notices the blue hair tie gone.

"Wh-what are these?" Gus pulls the items out.

Hopper inhales deep breath and walks toward Gus. "After Sara, my daughter. I was...alone, hopeless. And I just wanted to work myself until I died. Nothing mattered to me." Hopper looks at the ground. "But then, I remember a kid saying the words, "Fuck you, Pig"."

Gus' eyes start to water, reading the words across the papers. The words across the paper start to blur from the tears.

"And I visited that girl every now and then until I took her in to live with me." A lump forms in Hopper's throat, but he quickly swallows it. "5 years, 11 months, 10 weeks we've lived together, kid. You've brought so much meaning to my life, whether you think you have or not. I know I want you in this house for as long as I live. So, what do you say about making it official?"

Gus opens and closes her mouth. She shifts her watery eyes to Hopper's. "Y-You want to adopt me?" her lower lip trembles and so do her hands.

Hopper notices the papers in Gus' hands start to shake. "I would. If that's okay with--"

Gus cuts Hopper off by crushing him into a tight hug. "Yes." she shakily whispers. Hopper lets out a breath of relief, he wraps an arm around her and touches the back of her head. He quietly laughs and so does Gus.

...

"I have said I was sorry a thousand times."

Gus nods her head, "Hey, I'll stop bringing it up when you stop talking about me staying a few hours at Steve's."

"He was supposed to take you straight home." Hopper states.

"The roads were still slippery." Gus holds her hands out while trudging through the snowy woods. "We were waiting until it was safe."

"Yeah, I bet you were..." Hopper mumbles, pushing past the bushes.

The brunette blinks, "I'm sorry--what was that?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing, nothing..."

Gus looks down at the snow and sighs. "You do know that...Steve and I are just friends, right?"

Hopper and Gus stop at the chest and crouch in front of it. "Oh, I know you two are just friends. I'm just wondering if you two know that."

Gus shakes her head, "You are out of your mind." she takes her satchel off her shoulder. The brunette unzips her bag and places the Eggos and Twizzlers in the chest. She lets out a huff and looks at Hopper. And he was still looking at her. Gus rolls her eyes, "I don't like Steve like that."

"August, I just want you to be careful." Hopper gives her a soft small.

Gus presses her lips together and nods her head. "Yeah, of course. I promise."

Hopper lets out a soft breath and places a bag of strawberries into the chest. Gus' smile falls and she looks at the snow. Doubt slowly starts to form in her stomach, causing her to grow ill. That was two people now that have told Gus to be careful around Steve. Gus knows that Fallon and Hopper have her best intentions at heart. But she was a teenager. And teenagers make mistakes. Gus was hoping that this wouldn't be one of them.

Gus looks back at the chest and exhales through her nose. "Do you think she knows it's us leaving the food here?"

"Honestly?" Hopper lets out a breath. "I don't know. I just hope it's her taking the food."

Gus looks around the area and inhales a shaky breath. "Sooner or later, she's not gonna be able to survive out here." she slowly shakes her head. "It's getting colder each day."

"We can't stay out here all day looking for her, August." Hopper states. "We won't survive either."

Gus tilts her face toward the night sky and lets out a breath. "Okay, fine..." she scratches the top of her brow. "You...may be right about that."

Hopper softly chuckles. "Come on, let's get out of here." he touches the back of her head.

Gus reluctantly stands up with Hopper and walks toward the opening of the woods. A rustle is heard behind the two and Gus' back straightens. She curls her hands into fists. Simultaneously, Hopper and Gus turn around and spot the kid standing a few feet away from them.

Gus' raises her brows, "Holy shit..."

The young girl was wearing a plaid red and black beanie, and there was an oversized winter coat zipped up to her neck. She was still freezing and you could tell from her trembling legs. Gus takes a small step forward, but she quickly stops when Eleven tenses. A twinge of pain forms in Gus' chest, but she steps back. "You should...go get her, Hop." The teenager speaks. "I'll get the blankets from the car."

Gus quickly turns around and heads over to the truck. She exhales a sharp breath and shakes her guilt-ridden thoughts from her head. The brunette grabs one of the blankets from the back and turns to see Hopper walking over to her with Eleven trailing behind. Hopper rounds the truck and gets into the driver's seat. Gus and Eleven stand in front of each other. Both tense.

"Hi," Gus speaks.

Eleven slightly tilts her chin up, "Hi."

The teenager holds the fuzzy Star Wars blanket out to the young girl. "Uh, this is my favorite blanket."

"It's also the warmest."

Eleven takes a small step toward Gus and grabs the blanket. "Thank you."

Gus presses her lips into a small smile. She opens the door to the backseat and Eleven climbs in. Gus gets in the passenger seat and looks at Hopper. "Okay, so...what do we do now?"

Hopper looks at Gus, then he looks at Eleven. She was clinging onto the blanket for dear life, and she had every reason to. Hopper knew that they couldn't go back to their current household. Not until they knew it was safe for Eleven. And they still didn't know the whereabouts of Dr. Brenner. Hopper was hoping that Brenner wasn't out there looking for Eleven and Gus. He's the only one who knew she was still alive. Hopper slowly nods his head, "I have an idea where we can lay low." he looks back at Gus. "We can go back to the house and grab our stuff another time."

Gus nods her head, "Okay. You're the one driving. Lead the way."

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author's note.

The Hopper Family has formed y'all!!! I hope you guys are enjoying the story.

The next few chapters aren't going to be following the show, but they are important to the story.

Don't be afraid to comment! I love hearing what you guys have to say and I love hearing feedback if you have any!

Words : 3400