"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 sixteen; sleepover
Teddy didn't want to be alone. Well, that was a deep fear he always had, but this was a fear stemming from what they saw at the hospital (not general worries). He was... scared. When was he not? No, this was a different fear. Not his usual anxieties about life pestering him. This was terror tormenting his mind, The Mind Flayer's terror. He kept surprisingly calm. Well, as calm as he could be... he wasn't breaking down yet, bursting into an anxiety attack like years prior, so it was progress in becoming stronger.
After getting back into Nancy's car to return to the Wheeler's home at the end of the cul-de-sac, Teddy shifted as close as he could in his seat to El. The girl hadn't let go of his hand since the mush monster slipped away from them. He gripped her hand tightly back, his teeth chewing on his lips.
His mind raced with more fear. His dad... where was his dad? Thomas Chambers was somewhere in Illinois... thus, Teddy would be home alone... he didn't want to be alone. He wanted someone, someone to be with him and—
El cupped her hand around his ear and whispered something, something so soft he almost didn't catch it. She didn't want to be alone either. She sensed the feeling in him and she felt the same way.There was one logical conclusion between the two: stay together. They whispered to each other again, trying to come up with a plan of what to do. El recommended her house: Hopper's cabin, located far away—"so the Mind Flayer won't find us" she explained. Teddy hesitated originally. Would it look weird to be at her place? He didn't know... He reasoned that it would be two friends, trying to comfort each other in a bad situation. He accepted El's offer with a soft nod.
After Nancy drove them back to her home, Teddy went into the basement for his backpack he left and returned back outside. He took his bike and found El waiting for him after she told the others to come by the cabin the following day for further action. She wore his backpack for him while he'd steer and peddle to the cabin (it was his bike after all... and Teddy didn't think El knew how to bike yet). Look, he could've continued to wear the backpack, but El insisted.
Teddy and El left together, biking off into the night. El wound her arms around the boy's waist, her head resting against his back. A flustered feeling burst through his body. He tensed at the sudden contact, but immediately loosened knowing who it was. He was thankful for the night sky hiding his red cheeks. He thought back on the first few days he knew El, the times she rode on Mike's bike and never with Teddy. This is what he wanted. Little moments with her. Even in silence, even in the dark, even with everything going on, Teddy thought it was perfect.
First stop, the Chambers' home. Teddy wanted to gather a couple things (and bring a change of clothes). As he took his bag back from her, he assured her it would only take "5 minutes" as no one else would be home. He rushed inside and unlocked the front door for himself, closing the door behind him. The hall illuminated from the spare light Teddy left on and the moon light spilling in from the kitchen.
