𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 - dearly departed

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 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 that day.

 Hawkin's had been thundering. Low grumbles consistently had both Scarlet Hopper and Will Byers flinching with every horrific flash, trembling with every low growl flitting through the dull sky.

 Everybody had gathered, and that wasn't an exaggeration. For while Police Chief Jim Hopper had been known to avert people's eyes, to growl beneath his breath if somebody bothered him before three bitter cups of black coffee... every single resident knew that he did his best.

 The day Will Byers disappeared was the day the town had seen a change within him. Those unfortunate enough to know about his departed child would have understood why... but those who knew nothing more than their unapproachable Police Chief saw the man change like the flip of a switch.

 He'd done the impossible. He'd brought Will home when nobody thought he'd ever be saved.

 It wasn't something that really shocked Scarlet, to see so many known and unknown faces all crowding around the empty grave that now belonged to her father. But it was infuriating.

 None of them would ever know his true sacrifice. Everybody around her, bar the few faces that had joined her through hell, believed that their grizzly chief died within the billowing flames of a fire.

 The fire had devoured Starcourt Mall, and the residents of bleary little Hawkins were made to believe that Jim Hopper had managed to save almost every single person that had been inside... except Billy. That was the lie that had been spun, and like flies, the town members got caught up within the web.

 They all thought him a hero... but they'd never know how much of a hero he really was.

 There were curious glances thrown Scarlet's way; nobody had ever questioned Hopper's sudden adoption of a child that looked nothing like him, after all, they'd seen him change right before their eyes. But it was Eleven under the guise of curious eyes.

 It would have been far less suspicious had the sisters been able to keep away from one another, they'd have all chalked Eleven as just some kid they'd never seen before. But there she was, clinging to Scarlet as though her legs would buckle and break, all the while tears mingled with the raindrops on her cheeks.

 Scarlet hadn't been able to say a word. There was no farewell, no blubbering speech that would draw pitiful stares... She only stood tall with lips thinned to slivers. She had to keep it together... because she was the strong one, and if she couldn't be strong, how could anyone else?

 Steve's hand was around her own, providing warmth within the downpour while his other hand held up a black umbrella over their heads. Still, droplets managed to squirm towards their flesh, dousing their skin in stone-cold dew drops.

 Scarlet, despite wanting to scream with every flash in the sky, was thankful for the rain. Her tears were disguised with absolute ease.

 There was a certain hollowness that followed the death of a loved one — a numbness. It was like Scarlet couldn't feel her fingers and toes. As though her stomach was nothing more than a bottomless pit for her heart to hurtle down.

 Scarlet couldn't understand why she didn't feel the pain she knew existed within her, why the sense of longing had suddenly vanished into thin air. It was like someone was smothering her, the only instinct left was to breathe. There was nothing else.

 That was a white lie, though. One emotion still lingered, one still pulsed through her blood and made her heart beat even in times she'd wish it'd stop. Anger.

 Anger. Rage. Fury.

 Whatever one wanted to call it, that's what peaked through. When the numbness parted like clouds over a greying sky, it was anger that clawed its way through, stalking towards her like a predator to prey.

 It was somewhat comforting. To know that there was something left behind; something familiar.

 Scarlet had been stuck in a daze, eyes peering through the damp and cold air with nothing but fog filling her senses. No smell, no touch... then, a squeeze on her still-as-stone fingers made her blink. She didn't move, nor look to the side. She didn't need to.

 Steve was always there.

 Even when figures draped in black started to trample through the muddied cemetery, even when Max Mayfield drew Scarlet into a hug that was scarcely returned... or even when Joyce had tried her hardest to get a minuscule word out of her new daughter, only to leave with tears on her cheeks and her hand miserably tugging Elevens... Steve was there.

 The only sound left was the crack of thunder, the pitter-patter of rain clambering over Hopper's headstone.

 'Hawkin's Police Chief and Protector, a Loving Father.'

 Scarlet hated it.

 If anything, she wanted to smash it to pieces. It wouldn't matter, would it? For nobody was buried beneath because he'd been rendered as nothing more than a memory.

 The only indication that Scarlet had fallen to the ground had been the water soaking through her black tights. Dewdrops scrambled to leave the lime grass they perched upon, weaselling through the fabric as it cooled her skin.

 There was a thump as Steve followed, suit trousers absolutely sodden within seconds.

 He didn't say anything, but he did bring Scarlet close as she scowled at the stone.

 "Why did Loving Father come second?" Scarlet asked, and her voice sounded as though somebody had spilled molasses onto her words. They were thick, completely lacking the sugary-sweet lilt she'd often use to charm everyone around her.

 Steve blinked. That hadn't been what he'd expected... then again, he didn't know what he'd been expecting. Steve had been with her for every day proceeding the fire... five whole days. He's seen her scream as bursts of crimson shuddered from her body, whipping up a storm of broken glass and china... he'd seen tears upon tears flooding her eyes.

 Then it all... stopped.

 His lips had parted countless times, trying again and again to formulate a thought, to articulate a response... 

 "I don't —" He glanced at the headstone, watching as fresh droplets of rain tumbled over the words. She was right. Loving father should have been front and centre; because Hopper's care for his daughters, and even the kids that weren't his own... that was what had saved lives. "— I don't know."

 "I hate it."

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DATE: 07/12/2022

:·ﾟ★ I really love this oneshot? less dialogue, more imagery and internal thought... so this is the first one shot of this act, and we have five more. 

This one, as well as the next three after, are set in the three months that passed between the Battle of Starcourt, and when the Byers/Hoppers move away <3

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