Eli hadn't planned on rising so soon - yet the stillness pulled him awake. A soft light crept past the drapes, one that hushes noise and slows time. He eased off the mattress, bare feet meeting wood without a sound.
The clothes from yesterday sat tidy on the dresser. Yet he paused at the hoodie - the light gray one - then slipped it over his head. It fit close, as if made for him, not just lent.
He hadn't quite gotten used to how it felt yet.
The house hummed with a faint racket from the kitchen - Marcy most likely. He stayed put though. Didn't head down. Just moved toward the window instead.
Here, he spotted bits of the area - just a slice of a driveway, an old mailbox, maybe a wisp of smoke curling from a distant chimney. Everyday stuff. Not like back home, where nothing ever felt this calm.
It showed up now and then, whenever his mind wandered where it shouldn't. Just a small push. Like someone was always listening inside.
He wasn't sure whether it felt calming - or kind of scary instead.
He headed down the stairs without making noise. Marcy stood by the counter, ready for her job, going through some pages - she jumped slightly once she saw him.
"Oh - mornin', Eli." Her smile was gentle, askin' nothin'. "Food's out there waitin'… in case you wanna eat."
He gave a nod, yet stayed unsure. Still, deep down, he figured any nice act had strings attached.
She grabbed her stuff, didn't hang around. "Hopper's coming over tonight," she mentioned offhand. "Said he wanted to drop in."
Eli tensed up without meaning to. Whether Hopper showing up was a good thing or not? He couldn't tell - just felt its weight.
Marcy saw it - kept quiet though. "Back by five," she said. She snatched her jacket, stopped short, almost spilling more words out, then just went with, "Hope your day goes well."
The door clicked closed after she left.
The house got still - yet this time it felt right.
He poked around the leftovers she'd put aside, yet barely touched any. His stomach wasn't growling. Maybe trusting that feeling scared him instead. Telling which one it was? Nearly impossible.
Once he'd washed the plate, he drifted toward the living room, not sure what came next before Hopper showed up. Rules? Still foggy - like which spots he couldn't enter, what might set someone off, or when voices turned sharp.
He stayed there, perched by the sofa's side, arms crossed inside his jacket cuffs, just hanging around.
Hours dragged on. Still, no word from the System.
Then -
A vehicle's motor hums. Stones crackle under weight. The entrance shuts with a known thud.
Eli's pulse jumped.
Hopper walked right in. Always had. No warning - just the creak of wood, then boots on floorboards, like weather given legs.
"Kid?" Hopper's tone felt gritty - though kinda soft. "Still awake?"
Eli jumped up fast, wondering whether to respond, show himself, or do both at once. Right away, Hopper caught sight of him.
Hopper sighed, spotting him - somehow glad in a manner that caught Eli off guard. "You seem different now," he said, voice softer than before
Eli blinked. "I got some sleep"
"Yeah?" Hopper scratched his beard. "Good. You needed it."
It wasn't compliments. Just truth - somehow, that helped me take it in.
Hopper paced the living room, restless - like his mind was juggling a dozen thoughts nonstop. You could almost spot the stress humming beneath Hopper's surface, visible in every step he took.
Something was happening.
Something important.
Hopper slumped into the chair, letting out a sigh. "Listen up - I need to say something."
Eli froze.
Hopper saw it, so he spoke more gently. "Take it easy - you aren't in any kind of mess."
It wasn't a complete fix, yet still counted.
"There's been some… stuff going on," Hopper said. "Weird stuff. In town."
Eli had no doubt about that odd feeling. Then - just a faint nudge from the System, sort of how a cat perks up at a sound.
Hopper misread Eli's reaction as confusion. "I'm not gonna drag you into it, don't worry. Just need you to keep your head down today. Don't wander. Don't go into the woods."
Eli swallowed hard. "Because of the girl?"
Hopper paused mid-movement.
The silence stretched.
"Who're you talking about?" Hopper said after a pause.
Eli's heart shot up his chest.
You fool. Way overboard. Happened way too fast.
"I - I heard people talking yesterday," Eli said quickly. Not a lie. Just not the whole truth. "At the store. They said someone went missing."
Hopper stared at him for what felt like forever. Meanwhile, Eli stayed frozen, trying not to make a sound when he breathed.
After a while, Hopper turned his gaze elsewhere.
"Yeah," he muttered. "Someone did."
Will Byers.
Canon was starting.
Eli sensed a chill, then a spark, slipping beneath his flesh. Not panic. Not thrill. A different feeling - like fate buzzing just below the surface.
Hopper stood. "I'll be checking around town today. Just wanted to make sure you're alright before things get… busy."
Busy. At least that's what you could call it.
Hopper grabbed his coat, heading for the door, then stopped. "You're safe here, kid. I'm not letting anything happen to you, alright?"
The words hit harder than Hopper meant.
Eli wasn't sure what to say - so he gave a quick nod instead.
The door closed after he left.
Then, just briefly, the place seemed way too quiet.
As if every person in the city had stopped moving.
The system sparked awake.
Cause:Initiation of canon events (Will Byers – Missing).
Recommendation:Maintain low presence. Observe without interference.
Eli exhaled softly, then dropped down on the couch.
He wasn't meant to alter a thing.
He shouldn't have jumped into the tale.
Yet Will Byers had vanished. The kids got ready to look - El prepared to slip out of the lab.
Everything in Hawkins was shifting toward danger.
Eli sat alone inside a still home, acting like it wasn't hitting him just as hard.
He pushed his hands into his eye sockets.
He figured messing with time was a bad move.
He stayed out of it.
Yet the System never said he should ignore it.
Out there, gusts started rising.
The initial signs of trouble for Season One started forming above Hawkins.
Eli - just some kid from no place special, hearing a quiet System hum behind his thoughts - ended up right in the middle of a tale he'd sworn to stay away from.
Yet tales often refused to pay attention.
Hawkins probably wouldn't either.