"I'm sorry my heart's too big for my own good! I just want to be a good person!"
~
Theodore Chambers moves from his home in London to Hawkins and realizes this town isn't what it seems
Or
In which the new kid in town is thrown into all sorts of insa...
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chapter seventeen; the plan
"This is dangerous, El... you should've seen them. They're bloody rabid—" Teddy rambled on and on as the two walked outside the Byers home with their hands intertwined. He had been talking about everything, anything he could, in the limited time he had. The Demo-Dog attack at the junkyard, Will's episodes, etc. He did his best to fill her in with the important details but slipped up a few times to tell her things about his life and what he did while she was gone.
But now... El was leaving to face off against the Mind Flayer and his army. It was all apart of the plan, but Teddy remained his nervous self. He worried about her always even if she knew what she was doing.
"I know." El responded, cutting Teddy's spew off. They stopped walking just at the base of the house, turning to look each other in the eye as they talked. It made Teddy giddy to hold her hands and look at her in the eyes again. It was a serious anxious filled moment for him, but El managed to know how to keep him calm. "But I know... I can do it. I can keep you safe..."
Teddy let out a shaky breath while nodding his head. He believed her. He did. The jitters spread throughout his body, he couldn't keep himself still. His body didn't necessarily reflect the thought everything was okay. El gently squeezed his hand as her way to relax him, "Stay calm."
Such a simple suggestion... and yet, Teddy still struggled with it. He couldn't be calm. Not with her well being on the line. He worried about the what-ifs. He worried what could happen to her. He didn't doubt her power one bit, but still, something within always kept the deepest concern for her. "How can I stay calm when something bad could happen to you in that lab?" The lab was the root of her trauma, he didn't want her put in an uncomfortable position.
"Nothing bad will happen."
"How do you know that?"
"I don't." El answered. "but I am strong... stronger than before. With you... you make me even stronger."
His eyes lit up, "Really?"
"Yes."
He... made her stronger? The weakest person in the party made her stronger? Teddy Chambers made the superpowered girl stronger? Apparently... he did. (Teddy would take this in stride)
"Everything will be okay." Eleven assured the boy.
Teddy nodded his head, "And I believe you." The words were the truth, El could tell. But she could also tell their was something else on his mind, which was also true. She was back and, maybe now wasn't the best time, but Teddy thought about taking her as his date for the Snowball. Stupid thought... but he couldn't help himself. It was now or never Chambers. Get it over with now... and have it later! Maybe it would make such a terrifying moment just a little better... did the both of them. He stuttered and stumbled over his words, "El, I want to ask you something. Something really really important. Something I've wanted to ask for... well, I guess awhile. I've thought about it and would you—"
