Alexithymia | STRANGER THINGS [ON HOLD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE]

twelve | will the wise

While Matthew half-heartedly ate his breakfast and Nancy's toast had popped up from the toaster, Mike asked, "Do you like those grapes, Holly?"

As Nancy started to make her way over towards the toaster, Nancy asked, "Hey, Mom, I was thinking about staying the night at Stacey's tonight? We were gonna have a girl's night. Romantic comedies, do our nails, gossip..."

With a smile on her face, Karen said, "Sure! That sounds like fun."

It was then that Matthew picked up his knife and pointed it at one of his eyes, Matthew asked them, "You know what else would sound like fun?"

After the others turned their heads to look over at him, Matthew repeatedly made a stabbing gesture at his own eye, which got Karen to quickly look over at Ted, who was simply drinking his coffee without a care in the world.

Then, with a sigh, she said, "Matthew, no."

The most Matthew did was roll his eyes at his mother, while Nancy asked Holly, "Toast? No?"

* * *

With his headphones and Ratt's Round and Round playing on his walkman, Matthew had only just started to open his locker, only to let out a sigh when it was suddenly slammed shut in front of him.

With a blank look on his face, he turned towards his right to see Valerie staring up at him with a scowl on her face.

With a tilt of his head, he said to her, "And a hello to you too, Val." When she didn't respond, he crossed his arms over his chest as he asked her, "How am I doing today? Well, I'm doing great, thanks for as—"

It was then that she quickly grabbed him by the front of his jacket and asked him, "What the hell is your problem, Matt?"

Matthew replied, "Yeah, you're gonna have to be kind of specific, if you're gonna be asking me what my problem is, 'cause I have many problems, so..."

While ignoring his words, she asked him, "Why'd you pull a knife on Billy yesterday?"

With a scoff, Matthew forcefully removed her hands from his jacket and asked her, "That's what this is about? You don't like that I pulled a knife on your fucking boyfriend?"

Valerie told him, "He is not my boyfriend."

With an eyebrow raised, Matthew replied, "No?" When she only shook her head, he asked her, "Then why do you give a shit about what I do to him, huh?"

She said to him, "I give a shit because that asshole is my stepbrother and the last thing I need is him being given a reason to start shit with me or my sister."

With a nod of his head, Matthew said to her, "Hmm." After a couple seconds of silence, he asked her, "Well, Val, anyone ever tell you that your stepbrother's a piece of shit? 'Cause that one is a real piece of work, I'll tell you that."