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"EMOTIONS HAVE BEEN SHARED." HOPPER SPOKE AS HE ENTERED THE SHOP THAT JOYCE WORKED IN, THE WOMAN SMILING AT HIM. "Boundaries have been set." Hopper sort of lied. Joyce had given him the advice to sit the couple down and talk it through, not falsely accuse Mike's nana of falling over so he could threaten him on the way home. "Order has been... restored." Hopper grinned, Joyce too excited. "Wait, wait, it worked?" She asked about her plan, Hopper turning to her. "Uh, this is the first day in six long, excruciating months that they will not be seeing each other." Hopper spoke, Joyce applauding his 'achievement' with every sentence. "Sebastian seems happier already!" Hopper continued, Joyce letting out a soft grin. "I think it worked!" Hopper jumped up and down like a dog, laughing as Joyce applauded him.
Hopper had been the only one to notice Seb's mood slowly decrease over the summer. Piecing the parts together, he had found out himself that it was Mike and El. Whilst they're both happy and in love, Seb was getting worse and worse. Hopper noticed that most of his meals were slowly including more and more leftovers and he always looked tired. His temper had shortened, as did his quick witty personality. Hopper missed the latter greatly, the two always sharing quick jokes with one another at the start of the summer. But now, along with not seeing Scarlett in almost a week, Seb's mental health had decreased massively. Telling Joyce about it, she always hugged the poor boy extra tight whenever they saw each other and treated him massively. She would gift him new books from her shop every month in hopes that made him feel a little better.
"No, stop." Hopper paused Joyce's applauding, laughing. "It's all you." He smiled, Joyce doing the same. "I'm a puppet, you're the master." He spoke, Joyce laughing. "So you remembered everything?" She asked, Hopper laughing too. "Yeah, yeah," He sat down, "I mean, I had to improvise a little bit, you know?" He admitted, Joyce's smile fading a little. "It turns out, getting to Mike, now that was the key." He let out, Joyce nodding slowly. "And you didn't yell at him?" She asked, Hopper shaking his head quickly. "I'll tell you everything over dinner. I was thinking, you know, Enzo's, tonight, 7:00." He offered smoothly, Joyce starting to decline- "Hey, before you say no, I'd like to make one thing crystal clear. This," He motioned between the two whilst standing up, "is not a date." Hopper declared, Joyce confused.
"What, a date? You never said anything about a date." She spoke, Hopper nodding. "I know, I didn't say anything about a date. I just wanted to clear it up in case there was any confusion on your part." Hopper spoke quickly, Joyce scoffing lightly. "There's not-" "Great. It's just two friends getting together for a nice dinner. I mean, we've earned it, haven't we?" Hopper joked to all the times they've fought aliens, Joyce humming. "I can't be out late." She spoke, Hopper nodding. "You'll be home at 9:00-" "8:00" Joyce corrected, Hopper shrugging. "8:30, I'll pick you up." Hopper spoke, Joyce shaking her head. "I'll meet you there." She corrected once again, Hopper nodding.
