she opens her mouth to argue about trail mix not being enough but she knows they will just continue to go around in circles. as long as she gets him to get food that doesn’t perish quickly or easily, the trip is a success. as he speaks, sydney looks through the shelves and plucks things that she knows abbott likes or that she thinks she might. “it’s still so weird to think of you as a doctor.” she comments. “not bad weird- but it’s interesting weird. that even in this life you’re in a field that is centered around helping other people. nice to know not even witches can wipe that part out of you.” she more than anyone knows how big of a heart he has even if he doesn’t always show it.  sydney glances towards him when he mentions divorce. unfortunately she understands the urge. “i did that when lonnie left. i convinced myself it was because i needed to support two kids on my own- and maybe that was part of it- but i needed the distraction.” what sydney didn’t want to talk about was her cursed backstory. because it was unbelievably cruel. she looks at the sugary items in her own cart and throws bran cereal in for good measure. “…does this count as bribery ?” 

“then i won’t tackle you.” mila’s words were just as monotonous as emmanuel’s, perhaps even more so. it was safe to say that she still wasn’t entirely too happy with him. it’s not like she was actually going to physically attack him, though. she’d already gotten her fill back in that spare room in the byers’ home. “that was definitely a way to greet someone, though. nice job, hopper.”

    “i mean you’re right. it’s not like i’m at college at the minute and it’s been a while since i’ve done any theatre.” he was used to singing and acting on stage more than anything. the flowers had just been a job at first, but as soon as he realised how much flowers brightened someone’s day? his entire view just changed. it showed how soft he was, not just as cameron, but as lucas too. “if erica was around, she would have made herself more known at this point. and she hasn’t.. so i’m not so sure about what you’re saying right now.” he couldn’t help the scepticism, but it was mostly just because of how frustrated he was. that was wiped from his head as soon as the other spoke again, his hand moving to the collar of his shirt to toy with it out of habit. “yeah? i’m not going to blabber to anyone.” that was doubtful, but he would try his best at least. “i promise. now what’s up?”

“i do listen to you ! but you still need food in your house that isn’t expired.” ever since they reunited, will stops by frequently, which is why she needs to do shopping in the first place. sydney wants to point out that once eleven wakes up, she’ll probably end up doing the same. but she doesn’t. she follows after him and affectionately rolls her eyes. “at least they’ll be some variety, then.” she takes the lead and walks over towards the aisle with the sugary breakfast options. not exactly her favorite thing but abbott likes them. “do you work all the time because you have to or because you want to ?” 

“ji- emmanuel !” sydney scolds. “you have nothing in your house. less than nothing, actually.” she reminds, pulling a cart out from the bunch so he has one to use. “plus, i hate grocery shopping alone. so it’s a win/win: i make someone else suffer with me, you have more than expired frozen dinners in your freezer.” sydney drops her purse in the child’s seat built into the cart. “are you going to make that face the entire time we’re here, or what ?” 

⠀⊰⠀⠀closed start⠀⠀⊱⠀⠀sydney⠀& ⠀emmanuel .

what happens when your child always comes to your house and goes through a remarkable amount of food ? frequent market trips. what happens when you’ve got a ‘friend’ who hardly keeps anything more than crumbs in his own kitchen ? you drag him along. that’s whats got sydney standing outside the market place, one hand on the handle to her cart. her fingertips drum lightly on the plastic until she finally sees emmanuel walking up the sidewalk. “i was beginning to think you didn’t take my threat to drag you here by your oversized ear seriously.” @bcntancort

“why the hell would i tackle you in public? i have more class than that.” mila doesn’t take her eyes off of the menu above her, stuck between a crispy chicken sandwich and just an order of fries. maybe both…with a strawberry milkshake…and an order of chicken nuggets. yeah, all of that sounded perfect. “wouldn’t have known it was you if you hadn’t said anything. it’s not like i’d been paying attention to who was behind or in front of me.” mila has yet to actually turn to look at jim hopper – pardon, emmanuel betancort – but she knew that when she did turn to face him, it would only remind her of that night in november when she realized she’d been lied to for nearly a year. she understood why he’d done it. at first? not so much. but after a while, she could kinda sorta, maybe, almost see his reasoning behind it. didn’t make it any less stupid, though. “unless, when you say ‘hope you’re not gonna tackle me in public’ it actually means ‘kick my ass right here, right now.’ if that’s the case, let me take off my earrings first.”

    “now that’s a thought. simulated flower shop game? dope.” he teased, eyes rolling in an instant. the mention of his sister and his eyes fell again, not wanting to show how much it really was hitting him. she was always a pain in his ass as she got older, but he loved erica with all his heart. and he desperately wanted to know how she was doing. even if she wasn’t awake from whatever this curse was, he just wanted to make sure that she was safe and happy. “i didn’t know you knew that i had a sister..” but of course he did. he was the sheriff for a reason. he probably knew everyone in hawkins. “i just feel like everyone has someone. a-and..” an involuntary sniffle escaped from him before he shook his head, not even wanting to continue on with his thought. “i’m fine though. you’re sure you didn’t want flowers for someone? or yourself? they’re nice to have at your apartment..”

    cameron’s ears practically perked up as soon as he heard the familiar voice, his head snapping the others way as he moved to greet him. he wouldn’t necessarily call him a father figure, but he had certainly been there for him when he had no one else and when hardly anyone was awake. “i mean, i’ve got a year left of studying game design, hopefully i’ll be doing that as soon as possible.. flowers are nice though. there’s something about them.” he was certainly the most sensitive out of the entire williams family. all boys with different personalities, but cameron wasn’t afraid to show how he felt. “uh, fine.. i guess. i just… want to go home now.” the boy shrugged, gaze locked onto his hands for a few seconds. “but forget about that.. you’re here for a reason, right? what do you need?” 

“well then you better have recorded it- ‘cause i’m never going to say it again.” she promises. her eyes roll. “it is a lot. which is exactly why you can’t ask me to let you take it on all by yourself.” she’ll drop it for now, but no matter what he wants, she wasn’t going to let him go through it alone. jim didn’t leave her alone to deal with the hawkins’ mess back then, she is going to return the favor. “i do have a lot to deal with.. but things are settling down. kind of. i found out a lot of crazy shit recently.” the crazy is primarily from her cursed brothers ; their stories threw her into an endless state of confusion. “but i’ll always have time to help you, jim. if you even think you can get out of that you’re crazier than anyone ever thought i was.” joyce grins. she’s so unapologetically out of her mind when things are bad, she doesn’t even care that’s how she comes off to other people. patience or subtlety are not virtues that she possesses. “i’m going to ignore that ‘mainly you’ comment…” she says. joyce leans over to kiss him- gentle and quick- before she settles on her own cushion. 

                he contemplating his decisions regarding joyce, it wasn’t as if they were exclusive, but he still felt he needed to do something nice for the woman. he walked into the flower shop, instantly forgetting who worked there. shit. he closed his eyes, he could always go in as if he just wanted to check up on the boy, he did from time to time. “still can’t get over the fact that of all the things in the world---- you became a florist.” lips curled into a slight smirk as he looked around at something she would like. “how’re you holding up, kid?”

                the reason jim always wore his hat in hawkins was because his hair, after a certain length and emmanuel also opted for the ease of a hat. of course, it was rude to keep your hat inside of an establishment, but times change. he had the day off from work and decided to indulge in some fast food, there were still habits emmanuel couldn’t break, like jim’s need for a double bacon cheeseburger with avocado. he walked into the diner establishment, in line he recognized a girl. someone who in the final years in hawkins he spent some time with and regrettably the last time he had seen them they weren’t the happiest with his decision, to be fair neither was his daughter. “hope you’re not gonna tackle me in public,” he told the girl as he looked at the menu.

“i wouldn’t just start yelling.” joyce protests. “i would smile, say ‘of course, your majesty’ and then i would start yelling.” she’s comforted by the arm that’s around her but affection- even from jim- is unable to alter how her mind works. she’s a worrier, a fixer and a skeptic all wrapped into one. she can’t simply leave things alone. especially if it’s painful, as this clearly is.  “this-” and what this was she doesn’t know for sure. “-doesn’t mean that you can’t talk to me. you’re dealing with a lot now, jim. i don’t know anybody else who has one daughter that’s come back to life and another that has superpowers.” the corners of joyce’s mouth curl downwards just a little but they quickly switch directions. “it doesn’t have to be one or the other. i’m a great multitasker !!” her tone lightens at the end and she hopes the small joke can ease jim a little bit. joyce reaches for his other hand and squeezes it gently. “i’ll be there for you, 100%… if you’ll let me.” 

falon had originally become a candy striper in order to meet the community services hours required to graduate from high school. but after while, she fell in love with it, and still volunteered every once in awhile when the hospital needed her to. lately she had been working with live-in oncology patience, particularly children who needed company outside of doctors or nurses. she had just finished the first half of her shift when she had been sent to the break room for her lunch. the last person she expected to see when she stepped through the door was emmanuel, the strange man she once met at the coffee shop. falon came to an awkward pause as she noticed him. she visibly debated leaving but knew she needed to stay put in case her supervisor came looking for her. “…hi,” she mumbled, setting her stuff down at the table in the tiled room. 

closed start for @bcntancort

as jim chooses to continue on with the serious topic, joyce frowns. not because she doesn’t want to talk about it but because she hates what she heard. reuniting after being separated by a goddamn curse should be a blessing, not a source of stress. “she what ?” she gasps. the words throw her through several hoops as she sits down in the spot he beckoned her to. “sara actually said those words ?” joyce couldn’t imagine what she’d do if will had said anything like that after he was brought back from the upside down. her heart would shatter. “and what happened with el ? what do you mean she’s ‘still arguing’ ?” 

❛ ◈    SHE ROLLED HER EYES but not in an annoyed way. she wasn’t annoyed by him or his overbearing paternal instincts when it came to her health. it was hard to be the one who was sick but she knew it was hard to see someone you love be sick. she was smart enough to infer that losing a child was one of the worst pains a person could go through- if she could put him at ease, even a little bit, she would. “it’s a copy. you can have it. you’re.. you’re my dad-” jeez, that was still weird to say. “-so it’s sort of like.. your right to, or whatever.” chanel slipped through the doorway and examined the entrance to his house. “you can read it, you can ignore it. like i said, it’s a snoozer.” of course, it wasn’t. but she was trying a little too hard to keep the mood light. she didn’t like how their last conversation went.