"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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epilogue; tearful goodbye
Teddy didn't like "goodbyes." It felt too... permanent. He said it in fleeting conversations as he left his friends' houses... but those weren't real goodbyes because he knew he would see them again. Real goodbyes—the knowing that one would leave for a while (months, years, or... possibly forever), the tight embraces, the promises to keep in contact—Real goodbyes hurt.
He remembered he didn't have many goodbyes to make in London before he moved except to Jake and Mary and their son. He didn't have friends as a young child so there was no one to say goodbye to. In general, he didn't make many goodbyes during his life. No. That wasn't true. He remembered another goodbye... the goodbye El made to him in Mr. Clarke's room almost two years ago. That goodbye hurt. He remembered screaming and crying for El, that she didn't have to save them like that... and then, she was gone. The feeling pained him. It stung. It ached within him for days, weeks, months, almost a full year.
When she returned, El promised Teddy she'd never leave like she did that day again. They'd never have to repeat an emotional goodbye.
Even if it was unintentional, the promise broke.
Goodbyes had to be made between the two of them. The Byers were moving to California, moving away from Hawkins. That meant El was leaving with them, leaving behind Hawkins and leaving behind... Teddy. Joyce believed it was the best decision for her family and Eleven after... well... after all that happened. Hawkins had too many bad memories for all of them and moving away fixed that constant reminder.
Teddy learned of the move before the rest of the party, the afternoon before actually, a day in early August. Eleven couldn't hide it from him. She tried to. He didn't deserve to worry, not after what he had been through too. Teddy struggled after he returned to Hawkins from his vacation in London. He looked tired, on edge... she saw it in his eyes. He only just started to get a little better after a month. It was more than just physical as he got his cast off and his scars started to become less noticeable. He also told El about this "therapy" he started attending: grief and trauma sessions for those abused. He was just getting better... and she had to crush him with the truth.
Teddy looked so happy that afternoon too (before the news). He brought over cards in an attempt to teach El simply little games she could play whenever she got bored. He thought it was a good stepping stone to get her better at cards so she could play with the rest of the party. He sat crisscrossed on her bed in the Byers' home with the deck of cards spread for a game of solitaire. El sat across from him, seemingly paying attention to him as he spoke, but the remainder of the move clouded her mind. She couldn't focus. She wanted to tell him now. She had to tell him... It was either going to come from her now or Joyce that evening. Teddy continued to ramble on each move he did with his huge, goofy grin. El missed seeing that smile. She originally thought he would take this information better with just the two of them, but she started to second guess herself. The decision was overwhelming her, bringing her to the verge of tears. The ginger boy slowly lifted his head and immediately noticed El's demeanor changed. He jumped to figure out why, ignoring his game and focusing on her. "—what's wrong, Ellie? Am I moving too fast? I'm sorry, I can slow down?"
