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“You never know when you might be seeing someone for the last time.” Years of drinking and taking prescription drugs could never make Chief Policeman Jim Hopper forget about his daughter. Or Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Harrington.Rich Daddy’s little girl with big brown doe eyes, rosy cheeks, and beautiful fair skin that flushes when he marks them.Only two years younger than him, but easily the most popular and sought-after girl in school. How could she not be? Rich, fun, and beautiful. A ray of sunshine in this drab small town. But fortunately for Jim Hopper, she didn’t want the attention of the captain of the basketball/football team or a rich preppy boy.She had a thing for bad boys and Jim was close as she would get to one. Someone to keep her on her toes and keep up with her.They knew Jim for skipping classes and fucking girls at the back of his old man’s car. He smoked cigs behind the bleachers of the football bleachers and snuck into his pop’s whiskey.Liz was the type of girl who was the big city type born in the wrong city. She needed more than what Hawkins could give her. Liz required living on the edge (or as close as she could get to it). She loved drinking since she felt invincible and free. Sex was not as sacred to her compared to other girls in that time period. She was fine with losing her virginity to Jim but she didn’t make a big deal like other girls.Her sophomore year, it was Jim and Liz and Liz and Jim. She always wore his too large of a denim jacket. Jim’s face littered with faded red lipstick from Liz.The Harringtons obviously didn’t approve of Jim. He had no future goals. Came from nothing with no future aspects. College could go fuck itself. Her parents wanted her to find someone who could take care of her, but Liz didn’t want that. She was not meant her to take care of. To never be controlled. Hawkins and her parents could go fuck themselves. She had no plans to stay around long. Liz longs to leave as soon as she throws her cap after graduation.Jim was helplessly in love even if he hated to admit back then that someone as tiny and spoiled as Liz had him wrapped around her pinky. He followed her with no protest when she was accepted to UC Berkeley. Her parents refused to pay for it since they wanted her as a housewife instead of pursuing a degree. But Liz is as brilliant as they come so she had a partial-scholarship and the rest in a fuck ton of loans.Things went downhill from there. Liz was studying, in class, working part-time, or hanging out with friends. She invited Jim, but he felt small as they talked about politics and issues going on in the news. He rather works late as campus security. So when he got drafted into the war, Jim didn’t mind. He was fighting for his country instead of following Liz around as her non-ambitious boyfriend. But the thing is…Liz was against the war. She told him to burn his draft card and tell the government to go screw themselves. Jim liked to think maybe she’d been spending too much time with her yippie friends. But Jim liked to think their relationship was strong enough. Strong enough to last through this war that was said to possibly end in only two years with the rate they are going.It strained their relationship. He could tell through the letters they wrote to each other, but she was just glad he had lived to see another day. Another year.Then 1964 happened.There was a Free Speech Movement that occurred on UC Berkeley’s campus and she met someone. At least she told him instead of having his hopes up. He can just imagine his anger when coming home to her being married. Because Liz is honest that way. She didn’t push the blame on him or make him feel sorry for her that she was all alone in Berkley.‘Things happen for a reason or maybe by choice. I made the choice to go to the Berkley, and you made the choice to come with me. Fate chose you to draft you to the war. I stuck through this long distance relationship no matter how much I wanted to end things because the hundreds of letters we send each other do not stop me from worrying and having nightmares you might die the next day. But I love you and that’s the only reason that pushes me to move forward another day. Who knows how long this war will last. They say maybe another year but they said that four years ago. I can’t be thinking what if…”Jim knew where this was going. He hates that he had to read this letter in a room full of his fellow troops.
“I met someone. We met at that Free Speech Movement I told you about two months ago. We were friends at first but it is starting to become more difficult to ignore the possibility of something more with him. His name is Tony--which I know you could care less about his name. I’m selfish and I can’t apologize for that. You know how impatient I am so I can’t just sit around and wait until they discharge you, or the war to be over, or someone to kill you. So I choose him.
I would like to keep writing—“
Jim crumpled up the letter and threw it away. Like hell, he was writing back to her. Nine years. Nine years of their relationship thrown away by some yippie kid she met at a rally. Jim didn’t see her again until years later in 1974. He visited Hawkins for the holidays since Diana pushed him into letting Sara meet her other grandfather. If he could have his way, they could never be in the same vicinity of each other. Little did Jim knew that he would have an awkward run-in with his ex-girlfriend.The grocery store of all places.Her hair was much longer. She gained more weight. And instead of glowing as he expected, she looked weary.And there was a child with her.‘ “Jimmy?” her doe brown eyes widened as she halted. She gave him a timid smile. Nothing compared to the bright ones she gifted him with when she sees him in the school’s halls. “Didn’t expect you here.”“The grocery store?” Jim’s hands twitching, longing to hug her.“Hawkins,” she corrected.“I could say the same to you,” she nodded in agreement. Liz vowed to never come back years ago.“My mother has been begging me to come to visit ever since Karen Wheeler ratted me out about my kids to my parents,” she shared. “My mom thinks it would be a great idea if my daughter meets my nephew--which I do agree with.”Oh, yeah. The child in the shopping cart. Jim looked down to see a kid in the cart instead of the usual seating where the child should be.Jim doesn’t recognize much of Liz in the child. Dark hair, slender nose (like all children have), and pink pouty lips and big brown eyes. Everything else was foreign to him. A plethora of freckles covering her face. A mass of curly dark hair that Liz or any of the Harringtons do NOT have.“Jim, this is Jude,” she introduced them.“Jude?”“Yep, after The Beatles,” Liz admits with no shame. “I also have a little four years old. He’s at John’s. Named him after--““Elizabeth? Who’s this,” Lizzie flinched at the sudden voice. Her smile went from gleaming to forced when she turned to the taller man with a young boy with him. Jim is a cop for a reason, but also it was obvious who the stranger was judging by his appearance.Dark curly hair, with tan skin that almost matched Jude’s. Light brown freckles covered his face, but it was minimal compared to Jude’s.This had to be Tony.“Tony, this is an old classmate of mine’s,” Liz said. “Jim Hopper. Jim, this is Tony, and this handsome little boy is my nephew, Stefano.”The boy pouted and crossed his arms. “It’s Steve. And Unca’ Tony is a meanie. He won’t let me have any M& M.”“I’m sure there are sweets at your house.”Jim watched as a look of recognition came upon Tony’s face. “Jim…Hopper,” he repeated. He shook his hand fiercely before turning back to a fidgety Lizzie. He gave her a charming smile yet angry eyes. “The same one who you dated? I recall your last boyfriend having the same name who was drafted in the war.”Looking as if she was caught in a lie, Liz bowed her head in apology.Jim’s instincts were going off. He was a policeman for a reason. “I have a little girl, Liz. She’s three. I’m also living in New York. I recall you wanting to visit there. Have you?” He changed the subject.“Not yet, but soon,” she mumbled.“Doing anything impactful? I recall you wanting to change the world,” Jim pushed on. “It didn’t shock me that you would rally and protests against the war. Did you do anything with your major?” She majored in sociology. Her dreams were to speak on topics of inequality and stratification of women in the education and workforce system.“Ever since I had these little buggers, I’ve been taking care of them,” Liz tried to sound enthused but Jim could read her so well.“Well, it was nice to meet you, Jim, but we have to get going,” Tony said. His cold blue eyes locked on Jim. The man grabbed Liz by the arm and tugged her along as they pushed the cart past Jim with a pouting Steve following behind.Jim wished he pushed harder to relieve tightness in his chest. Something in his gut was telling to follow and persist for them to meet again. For him to visit the Harrington house and tell John, her brother, his worries about Tony. But he knows John doesn’t care much about anything but himself.But instead, he turned around and continued down the aisle. He didn’t know that he would meet Jude again in five years. Jim was only a Chief for six months before a skinny brat ran into the station and caused a commotion. Nothing ever happens in Hawkins. The occasional burglary and missing cat, but nothing compared to the adrenaline-fueled cases in New York.“My sister is missing,” the kid yelled as soon as he ran through the door. His voice cracked and eyes filled with unshed tears.“Whoa, what’s your name kid,” Officer Powell asked the kid.“Did you fucking hear me? My sister is missing.” the kid was having a panic attack. Face turning red as she tried to hold his tears back (but failing). His hands now clutching his hair.“What’s her name, then? We have to know that before we start looking,” Powell led the kid over to his desk. Jim decided to see what the chaos is about. He didn’t interfere yet, so he stayed in the background. For all, he knows this could either be a prank or his sister was hiding.“Her name is Jude——last name?”“Harrington. She, uh, has short dark curly hair. Curly and, um, chubby cheeks and brown eyes. A few moles on her face and a scar over her eyebrow.”Harrington. Last he heard, John only has one kid.Jude.Jude Harrington. Wait a minute…“Jude Harrington?” Jim finally speaks up. The kid jumps at the sudden voice. “What’s your name, kid?”“Steve.”“Where’re your parents?”Steve sighed. “On a date or something. Our nanny is at home. We snuck out on our bikes and now I can’t find Jude.”“When’s the last time you saw her?” Jim asked.“Uh, about an hour ago. What if something happened to her? What if some pedo got her?”“Pedo? How’d you learn that word,” Jim raised an eyebrow.Steve flushed. “Jude told me about it. Said there are everywhere but blend in. There is a lot of killers there too and not just Charlie Manson. She said pedos are just an older man who has a thing for little girls AND little boys. What if they snatched her up. I am her older brother and I was supposed to look after her and now I lost her—“Jim lets Powell calm the kid down. Jim didn’t have the patience to deal with a panicking thirteen-year-old. He didn’t have a lot of patience these days anyway.“Is Jude Harrington really your sister because I thought John only have one kid.”Steve gaped. “She’s my adopted sister. I mean, she’s technically my cousin, but she’s my adopted sister now. I don’t see how this has to do with her getting found.”An uneasiness came over the Chief. “What happened to Liz.”“Liz?”“Your Auntie Elizabeth. I was friends with her.” Jim knew that it’s not professional to ask about the kid’s aunt when he’s too busy worrying about his younger cousin. Jim just couldn’t shake the lingering feeling of needing to know what happened to Lizzie.The kid frowned. “None of your business,” he growled. “I want you to find Jude.” It didn’t take long for Jim to find the kid. He saw a bike in front of the Melvald’s General Store and made a guess that the kid stopped inside there. There’s not much for the kid to go to the middle of the night. Either the diner or the movies.Jim greeted his old high school smoking buddy, Joyce Byers. “You have seen a little girl around here? Curly hair about this tall?”“Um, Judy?”“Jude,” he corrected.“She’s with Jonathan.” Joyce points him to the magazine aisle. Jim stops when he sees the familiar face. Jude was sitting on the floor next to another little boy reading the National Geographic. Both huddled together shoulders touching and heads inches from each other as they read the magazine.“You can work for them one day,” he hears her tell him. “That or Time Magazine. I heard they have awesome photos, too.”“I never read Time.”“They do the nitty gritty shit,” she explained. “Like wars and political stuff.”Jim stops in front of them. “Jude Harrington?”The little girl lifts her head. She looked the same as she did five years ago. Her hair was shorter, but everything else was the same. It is a bit of shame that she doesn’t look much like her mother not counting her big brown eyes. “I’m not stealing. Just looking. Joyce said it’s fine.”“You should probably call her Ms. Byers,” Jonathan whispers.“Your brother is worried sick about you,” Jim tells her which caused her to frown.“AJ?” she asked.“No, Steve.”“Steve?”Jude rolled her eyes. “Oh, that brother,” she sighs. “I guess I left him waiting for long enough,” she turns to Jonathan. “I’ll see you at school. Hopefully, we have the same class.”“Yeah.”“Your brother was worried sick about you,” Jim lectured her as he drove her back to the station.“That’ll teach him to insult me and ditch me for Tommy,” she retorts. “He deserves to piss his pants.”“What he say?”“None of your business.” These kids are getting brattier and brattier by the year. Jim wondered if his daughter would have turned into one when she would have been there age.“Um,” he didn’t know how to start this just in case it was a sore subject. He figured something had to happened with Liz for Jude to be here. “How’s your mother?”“Mary?” Steve’s mother.“No, uh. Liz. I mean, Elizabeth?”He could see her stiffen from the corner of his eye. A long awkward silence filled the truck. “You don’t have to tell me much. I was just wondering how she was. We use to be friends.”“Friends?” she whispered.“Yeah, we kind of dated a bit in high school,” Jim didn’t know why he told her daughter that. Who would care who their parent dated? Especially when it happened over a decade ago.“You either did or you didn’t. There is no kinda,” she said. As he said, bratty.“We did. Dated when she went to college, too.”“Why’d you stop?”“I served in the army,” Jim shrugged. “She met someone else. Um, Tony, I think.”Jude laughed humorlessly. “Were you angry?”Jim hesitated before replying, “Yeah, but I understood after a while. No one wants to hear the love of your life finding someone else. Especially when I’m about to risk my life for what? My country? Or someone else’s?”“Mom was the love of your life?” That seemed to shock her.“I thought she was, but I was young and she made me feel…”“What?”Loved. Happy. Wanted. Like he was someone instead of some small town boy who had nothing in his life going for him besides booze and a black lung.“Special,” maybe it was the lack of sleep or the familiar brown eyes looking at him that caused Jim to open up.“How was she in high school?”Jim chuckled. “Gorgeous. Glowing. She was a bird ready to be freed. Hawkins was never for her. She wanted to make a difference.” They finally made it to the station.“I wish I saw her like that,” Jude whispered more to herself than to him. She follows Jim inside the station, but then she stopped.“What’s wrong?”“She’s dead.”“Who?”“Mom. Liz is dead,” she said with a shaky voice. Her eyes looking at his badge instead of making eye contact.“How?” Jim hoped this brat was messing with him. But what other reason would Jude be here? Why would Steve call Jude his adopted sister?“Murder,” she said simply.“And your father?”Her shakiness dissolved at the mention of Tony. Her back straightened and eyes locked into his. “Dead. Shot in the head.” and with that, she continued walking.He could hear Steve’s yelling when Jude walked further in. “Jude! Where the hell you’ve been?” Jim doesn’t let sleeping dogs lie. So, he called the Police Department in Berkley. They never heard about that case. So Liz must have moved somewhere else. He recalled Tony’S tan skin as if he’s been in the sun too long. Jim assumed that they lived closer to the beach and maybe in the southern part of the state. Luckily the LAPD heard about this case and told him to contact the San Diego Police.That night Jim drunk himself almost in a coma.Liz was murdered. Beat to a pulp and with internal bleeding from a broken rib that ruptured her lung. She died when the paramedics came.And who killed her?Tony. Classic domestic violence case that can only end one way when no help steps in early. His gut was right five years ago.Tony was killed with a point-blank shot in the head by his daughter.It was a classic case of self-defense. No one would have convicted her. She was trying to protect her mother so she killed her father. And if that didn’t cause pity then also being the victim of child abuse helped her case. Only sentenced to mandatory therapy sessions. After that night, Jim hadn’t seen or heard much about Jude over the last few years. He hasn’t spoken to her until 1983. When Will Byers went missing.He found out how close Jude was to the family when he thought Jude was just as crazy as Joyce.She was attacked by one of those monsters when it broke into Byer’s home. A broken arm and a claw wound on her back. While Jude was trying to help find her best friend’s little brother, her own little brother, AJ, was with his group of friends helping a powerful little girl.That was an eventful year.At that moment, he didn’t see much of Liz in Jude. Jim saw anger. Cynicism yet strength. Willpower and stubbornness. Loyalty and fierceness. In the waiting room, outside of Will’s door, he sees her hold Jonathan’s hand with a tight grip. Jonathan seemed like a nice kid. Quiet. Non-threatening. She needs that. Maybe and hopefully she doesn’t have the same type of men as her late mother did. Hopefully, she won’t be the type to date father. To make another cycle. That thought was shattered when he sees a parked blue Camaro on Lover’s Field. It’s been called that for decades so Jim knew what had to be happening in that car. And he recognized it. He pulled it over for speeding and the kid was a fucking smug douche. Pretty boy with a fucking earring in one hear, and a mullet of all things. Jim was happy to give this kid another ticket.He expected anyone else in the back of the car with the boy. So when he knocked on the door and interrupted the fumbling and loud moans, he was expected an unknown girl and the boy. “Get out the car.”“Just a sec,” the boy yells out.“Fuck, if I get arrested because of you, you can forget me ever touching your dick again,” he hears the girl whisper.“Aw, don’t be like that, Spitfire,” he chuckled. The mullet-haired boy came out first with as much swagger as he could with being caught by the chief of police. “We meet again.” Following behind was…Fuck.Jude came out with disheveled hair, swollen lips, and a half-buttoned dress.“Shit.”.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Billy Hargrove.
The New Guy.
That was how Billy Hargrove was introduced. Billy, the new guy.
He’s from California. Have you seen that ass in those jeans? Damn, that body though…
It was as if the girls in high school didn’t know how to act with new meat. Someone who didn’t fit the mold of a regular Hawkin’s guy. Sun-kissed tan skin, striking blue eyes who’s quite handsome. The first class hasn’t even started yet and the guy already made a name for himself in just five minutes.
Jude only heard of Hargrove through rumour mill. She had no reason to talk to him, so judging by the rumors in just one day he already made a reputation for himself.
Jude shared a few classes with him but didn’t pay him any mind. He stepped into her Calculus class that morning ten minutes later with the swagger that only rock stars should have. She couldn’t even lie to herself on the allure of Hargrove’s. She can see what the talk was for. Sun-kissed tan skin. Blonde curly hair. Jude could tell that he has a sturdy body under his tight jeans and tee shirt. Jude could not help but snort when Carol straightened her back to make her breasts stand out.
I guess Tommy is in the back of her mind.
What she also heard about Billy was from Steve. He didn’t tell her much. It’s not like she asked about him because
why?
That asshole new guy joined the basketball team. It’s like he as a vendetta against me or something.
So in the beginning, Jude might not have much of an opinion on him, but now Billy is on her hit list.
Jude didn’t think she would interact with the guy much. Especially so soon and while she fights fucking monsters again while at it.
Nothing ever happens in Hawkins, my ass,
Jude thought when helping fight a demon in Johnathan’s house with Nancy and Steve.
After leaving California, Jude’s therapist, Dr. Andrews, suggested a hobby to vent her aggression. Kickboxing became her favorite after-school activity. While it helped to put her anger somewhere, it also helped settle her worries that she can now defend herself.
Nothing ever happens in Hawkins.
Steve literally said it almost every day during her first few months in the new city. It was basically the unofficial saying of the locals. For the past few years, she tried to believe it. Her guard slowly went down.
Jude understood the push and kick that Billy gave Steve outside the house. She might get violent when finding her younger sibling in an unknown house in the middle of the woods. Jude chalked it down to Billy being a protective older brother for Max (she found out quickly that it was not the case).
Seeing Billy take his anger out on
Steve, h
er cousin, who she considered as a brother. Jude was fucking
ready
for this.
So why didn’t she move? Her heart racing, shallow breathing, and hands shaking. Jude shouldn’t be scared. She wasn’t scared of Billy. She shouldn’t be. She
trained
for this. Jude made sure to never be weak. To never be afraid so she can defend AJ and herself. Hell, even to defend Steve (because God knows he can’t fight for himself) before he changed for the better.
But seeing the wild expression on Hargrove’s face.
It was
too
familiar. Wild and angry. Laughing while caving her cousin’s face in .
“So, AJ mentioned that you had a panic attack last night.” Trust Steve to not be subtle. It was the first thing that Steve said to her that morning. Well, they greeted each other when she entered the kitchen that morning. She didn’t say much after that. Jude stood at the corner of the kitchen as she sipped her coffee. Her eyes locked onto her cousin’s bruised face. After dropping off Dustin that night, Jude demanded that Steve stay up for the next few hours watching
Who’s the Boss
reruns. “Do you want to talk about that?”
Jude shrugged. She knew that she
should
talk about it, but she was not ready yet.
“How ‘bout with Dr. Andrews?” Dr. Andrews being her cheeky and clever therapist that was assigned to her after her move to Hawkins. While the woman can be warm and understanding, she can also handle Jude’s snarky attitude (especially her first year in Hawkins).
Jude sighed. It has been the last thing she thought. Maybe in a few days she’ll mention it, but now she is too
still
worried about the possible brain damage that Steve could have. “Maybe we should go get your head checked out?” Steve huffed.
“I’m fine, JuJu.” Jude would have thought their previous conversation would have been over, but judging by the look he was giving her she should have known better. Steve has always been keen at reading Jude. He wore that worried puppy look persuading Jude into wanting to spill her secrets.
“I’m not scared of Billy,” she blurted out.
Steve nods as if he agreed with her.
“It’s just...for some fucking reason what happened last night in that living room brought back memories that has been long buried,” Jude explained. It was partially a lie. She never buried the memory of her last night with her parents. That memory always sneaks up into her when she thinks she’s getting better.
Jude kept her eyes locked on the mug she held in her trembling hands. Luckily, it was barely any left in the cup to risk burning herself. Her eyes stinging with her unshed tears she refused to let spill.
“Seeing you unmoving while Billy went ballistic on you…”
“Jude…” Steve finally walked towards her. While their relationship has gotten better in the past year, they were never affectionate with each other. Jude let herself into Steve’s awkward embrace.
“He could have
killed
you,” her voice cracked. “I would have been too late,
again.
And when we finally stopped Billy, and you didn’t move...I thought you were
dead
. AJ had to literally slap me to get me to calm down. I couldn’t even drive.”
“I’m alive, Ju.”
Jude gripped tighter. “We’re pressing charges.”
“
We?”
“I mean
you
are pressing charges,” Jude insisted. “There are consequences for almost killing someone.” Like hell she’s letting Billy get away with almost causing murder. She doesn’t care what anger problem shit he’s got going on. Since she couldn’t help him last night, this is the least can she do.
“
Jude.”
“Don’t ‘Jude’ me,” she retorted.
“It looked suspect of me to be hiding his sister,” Steve said.
“Are you
defending
that ass?” she asked even though she agreed with Steve’s last statement. She would have probably acted a bit hostile if her brother was in the middle of the woods with a stranger. But there was something about last night’s situation that had nothing to do with Billy being a ‘protective’ big brother.
“
No,
but you admit that I am right.”
“Obviously I agree, but whatever that was last night--,” Jude paused as she recalled the manic expression on the blonde’s face, “--that was pent up aggression he was holding for you.”
Billy should have expected to run into a Harrington sooner than later. This town is small as
fuck.
Can hardly avoid someone without running into another person he wants to avoid. The town is so small that Billy already has a reputation
outside
of high school. The older women checking him out since they are stuck in some loveless marriage with a boring as fuck pale dude. It’s not his fault he adds unpredictability to this place.
But color Billy Hargrove surprised when he woke up in a haze to see that he is still in the freak show of a house. There had to be at least one crazy in this town and he would end up in it. With his sister missing, too. He struggled to stand on his feet before he stumbled against the wall. Whatever his bitch of a sister gave him, that was the strong shit. His mouth feeling as if he chewed on some chalk, he made his way to the fridge. Billy blamed the drugs when he
thinks
he sees a slimy
thing fall
out.
Nope,
Billy thought. He steps over the creature and decides he rather deals with his father than whatever sci-fi shit going on in Beyer’s home.
Luckily it wasn’t the male Harrington. While he should feel partly proud of the work, he did on the boy’s face and brag about it. There was no reason to. He overheard from Max on the phone that Steve is alive and well as one can be with having his face caved in. Billy’s not apologizing for starting the fight with the guy, but he is hung up on the fact he could have killed him. He didn’t mean to go
that far.
Steve was just at the wrong place and the wrong time to deal with Billy’s bubbling aggression.
It was Jude Harrington of all people working in the only record store in town. A small hole in the wall place not too far from the arcade and diner. The record store settled between a small bookstore and bakery.
There share a few classes together. It surprised Billy to learn that she is the [adopted] sister of Steve’s but also his actual cousin. One thing Billy learned from Tommy and Carol is how 95% of the shit that comes out their mouth is
bullshit.
It’s clear it is jealousy, hurt, and pride that fuels the pair’s vindictiveness towards the Harringtons (mostly to Steve).
Billy was more shocked that he didn’t
really
notice her until now. A fucking beauty that one is. She’s not a striking babe that flaunts it because she knows she has it. There was something softer about her. Even if she’s giving him a look that could kill. He told Max he would stay away from her nerd friends and Steve. He didn’t think Jude fits into that category, too. And Billy will not avoid the only record place in town just because of some chick.
He winked at her before he browsed the records.