"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 eleven; no one hurts my teddy bear
Turns out, Teddy's friends were still stalkers. He wasn't surprised, so he was glad to know not much had changed in six months in regards to that. The six found themselves in the parking lot of the Hawkins Public Pool, hiding behind parked cars as they spied on Billy Hargrove. Billy was El's main suspect, as she explained what she had seen when she spied in on him in the void. Her suspicions aligned with what Will told them about the Mind Flayer. It brought them to this point.
Teddy knew this is how they had to find the Mind Flayer and its host, but stalking people still rubbed him the wrong way. It just felt weird. Other people thought it was odd. At one point, he awkwardly waved and smiled to a family with two young children as the adults shot them weird glances.
"I don't know. He looks pretty normal to me." Max told her friends as she gazed at her step-brother through the one pair of binoculars they brought with them. To share one binocular with six people was tough, especially when they all wanted to see.
Teddy crinkled his nose, perplexed, as he slowly turned toward Max, "really?" He could just make out Billy's figure on the lifeguard post with a long white t-shirt, a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a towel draped over his legs. Far from "normal" as Max claimed
"Normal? How many times have you seen him with a shirt on?" Lucas pointed out. Teddy nodded his head to his friend. He remembered on numerous occasions at the Mayfield-Hargrove house that Billy didn't wear a shirt... so, to be at his swim job with a shirt was strange.
"I mean, it's a little weird." Max slowly agreed. For some reason, she was the most hesitant on Billy being the host. Teddy didn't quite understand why since Billy was a horrible person, but perhaps some relationship changed between the two step-siblings he didn't know about.
"Only a little?" Teddy countered, "it's a long sleeve... in summer."
"It's more than a little weird." Mike added, "he was in a tub with ice. The Mind Flayer likes it cold. Plus everything else—"
"But he's lounging at the pool, which is... like... the least Mind Flayer thing ever."
"Not necessarily." Will spoke up, gaining the heads of everyone looking at him, "The Mind Flayer likes to hide. He only used me when he needed me. It's like-like you're dormant. And then, when he needed you—" His gaze fixated on Billy, "you're activated."
"Okay, so we just... wait until he gets activated." Max reasoned.
Teddy nodded his head, "Yeah, that shouldn't be too—"
"No." Mike cut in, "What if he hurts someone?"
"Or kills someone." Will added.
Teddy shrunk back, pressing his lips together as his head fell, "Oh... never mind." El gave his hand a little squeeze, bring a small smile to his face.
