Stranger Things: The Lost Family (Part 1)

What is Love?

It was afternoon in Hawkins. Hopper took the day off to spend some time with El. He was teaching her more about Christmas. He didn't have time last year to put a christmas tree in the cabin. But that day, he surprised El by dragging a small pine tree into the cabin, placing it in the living room. El was surprised. "What is a tree doing in the cabin?" El asked Hopper. "Well, this is how it works. We put it up, usually in a living room. Then we put a rug under it. And we put pretty decorations on it. It's a tradition for the holiday." El looked at the tree. "Christmas Tree." She said.

Then, she heard a car driving up. She looked out the window, a little bit nervous at first. "Ah, perfect timing." Hopper said, smiling. El saw Joyce, Mike, and Will exit the car, carrying boxes. Hopper opened the door to let them in. El hadn't seen Joyce in a while, so of course she gave Joyce a hug. They spent a few hours taking out the decorations that were in the boxes, hanging them up, as well as the lights, which El found amusement seeing light up.

While Hopper and Joyce were catching up, Will thought it was the right time to talk to El. He walked over to her and Mike. "Hey, uh, can I tell you both something?" Will asked. "Sure." Mike said. "What's up?" Will looked at Joyce and Hopper. They couldn't know. "In... Private?"

They went to Els room. "Is there something wrong, Will?" El asked. Will looked at his hands. They were normal. But he closed his eyes, and concentrated. He looked at his hands again. There was ice and snow on his hands. He showed El and Mike. They were both confused. Will put his hand on the wall, then let go. There was now his handprint made of ice on the wall. El was now very confused.

"Will, when did this happen?" She asked. "Just last night." Will said. El looked at his hands. "Is that all? Just freeze things?" El asked. Will concentrated again, and his hair turned white. He turned it back to his normal brown color.
"I think if I feel any kind of strong emotion, I can make it snow." Will said. Mike stood up. "Snow?" He asked. "Yeah. Last noght, I was... Having a nightmare about being posessed by the Shadow Monster again, and when I woke up, there was snow on my bed." Will said.

Back in the living room, Hopper and Joyce were sitting at the tavle with coffee. "So, how's Jonathan doing?" Hopper asked. "Oh, he's fine." Joyce said. "He's... I guess been experimenting with Bobs videocamera, and the other technology Bob left." Joyces voice was a bit shaky bringing up Bob. It was a year, and the thought of Bob being attacked by the Demodogs still haunted her. Hopper looked at her. "I know how it feels to see someone you love die." He said. "One moment they look at you, the next... Their gone." Hopper did understand how she felt, being there to see his daughter Sarah die in the hospital.

Until evening came, Joyce, Mike, and Will left. El hugged Joyce and Will goodbye, and kissed Mike on the cheek. As Joyce and the boys left the cabin, Joyce looked at Mike. "She's a wonderful girl, you know." She said to him. Mikes ears turned pink. "She is." He said. "There's just one thing that scares me." Joyce looked at him. "What's that?" She asked. Mike grinned. "If Hopper catches us kissing or something, I'm scared he'll pull out his gun." Joyce and Will laughed. "Don't worry. You know he'd never do that." Joyce said.

Hopper looked out the window, seeing Joyce and the boys leave. El was sitting in front of the christmas tree, looking at the lights. She was concentrating. Then, they turned off. Then, turned back on. She repeated the process until Hopper saw it. He chuckled. "That's a nice trick." He said. Then he took a deep breath. El could tell something wasn't right with him. "What's wrong?" She asked. Hopper looked at her. "Nothing. It's... Something stupid." He said. El stood up. "You can tell me." She said.

Hopper took another deep breath. "It's Joyce." He said. "I... She has been through so much. I care for her, I guess. Maybe... Maybe their feelings. Jesus Christ, if I'm falling in love with her..." Hopper said, looking at the floor now. El was confused. "Love?" She asked. "What is love?" Hopper looked at her. "Oh boy, love. How do I explain love to you?" He said. "It's when... It's kinda in two ways. There's of course the way you love someone like they are family to you. But another way, is when you like a friend, more than a friend. You feel butterflies on your stomach. They always make you happy. And you would do anything for them. Even if that means risking your own life."

El never heard Hopper say anything like this before. Maybe he was in love with Joyce. "But the hard part is telling them how you feel. If they say they love you back, you're in luck. If they don't love you that way, then your heart is broken. And it is hard to patch it back up." He said. El thought about this. A broken heart? She was scared to know how that felt. Hopper looked at his watch. "Holy smokes, I forgot the time." He said. "Bedtime, kid."

El layed in her bed. She thought about what Hopper told her. Butterflies in stomach, love more than a friend, you'd do anything to make them happy. El felt all of that towards Mike.