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HOPPER STEPPED OVER THE WIRE HE PLACED BEFORE HIS CABIN, USING IT AS SOME SORT OF ALARM. Hopper than did the certain knock, hearing the door unlock quickly. The man then walked in to see the back of Seb as he walked into his room. He had a separate one to El, Hopper saying it was privacy. Hopper looked to El as she watched TV, the girl unbothered. "Again?" Hopper asked, El nodding as her eyes were still on the TV. Seb would always do this when Hopper was late, which was often. He didn't know why but it seemed to hit him the hardest when Hopper came home late. After Hopper had taken him in after El, he was the first person that Seb trusted fully. Then, the man started to come back later than said. Whenever this happened, which was often, Hopper would have to watch Seb walk into his room and shut the door, Hopper having to leave his dinner in front of his door and wait for him to pick it up.
The reason Seb was so protective over El and stayed close to her was because of the fact that he didn't really know how to talk to anyone else. He wasn't as social as other kids his age, he wasn't like them at all. When Hopper started coming home late, Seb believed it was to stay away from him for longer. As if the way he's trying to be social wasn't good enough. As if he had to try harder. And he tried. He really tried. He even has about three dictionaries and a whole encyclopedia laid out on his bed all the time, trying to learn new words and sentences so he can speak like other people. Other normal people. These nights resulted in Hopper trying to talk to Seb with no avail, sighing and leaving a plate by his door that would be empty in the morning. El even tried to talk to him once, Seb not letting her in. That was because he didn't want his little sister to see him so fragile.
So vulnerable.
Even though Seb was only two minutes older than his sister, he felt like he had to protect her from anything. Everything. Everyone. So, he decided he couldn't let El see him upset. She couldn't see a single tear nor frown. Only smiles and laughs. That's why Seb locked himself in his room so much. To hide. Sev sat on his bed with a sigh, staring at the collar on his desk. Hopper had gotten the collar off of Seb when he found the twins. It only took him two weeks as the collar was so heavy duty. Seb decided to keep it for no reason at all, sitting it on his desk and never touching it again. He heard El and Hopper converse outside his room along with shuffling and the TV turning off. "Hey, kid!" Seb jumped slightly as Hopper yelled for him, El waiting outside his door. Seb didn't answer, hearing El's soft sigh and Hopper's groan.
"Come on, kid! I can't keep doing this! I've told you a million times, it's work! I work late!" Hopper spoke, Seb letting it go through one ear and out the other. He heard that every time that this occurred. Work. It was always the same excuse. Even El was starting to get fed up of Hopper being late by now. "Kid?" Hopper asked, Seb looking to the door. "Buddy?" Hopper asked hopefully, Seb perking up at the name. "You know what, I'm calling you buddy from now on." Hopper spoke, Seb remembering when Dustin called him that. How he missed Dustin. Lucas and Mike too. He missed them all, as did El. The girl obviously missed Mike the most, telling Seb how much she missed him. The boy just had to sit there and listen because even though he hated that half hour rant, if it made El feel better, it made him feel better. "Can I call you buddy?" Hopper asked, Seb starting to get up before stopping, sitting back.
El sighed, moving to the small table the three shared as Hopper ruffled her hair. "I'll leave him some, okay?" Hopper asked, El nodding as they ate in silence, Seb reading from his encyclopedia. "Roller-coaster?" He asked himself in a whisper, reading what a roller-coaster was.
