Work Text:
For the last half year Joyce Byers and her three kids had been working hard to make a new home in Lenora California. Joyce could tell that the teenagers were all having a hard time adjusting to the new home and having to be without their friends.
Jonathan had made some new friends (well, really only one new friend) and he wrote and called Nancy his girlfriend as often as his senior schedule would allow him. Only recently had Joyce noticed something was awry with her oldest child. He had started getting defensive about his relationship with Nancy and Joyce could see the unsureness in his eyes whenever his girlfriend was brought up. She decided not to push. He would come to her when he was ready to talk about it.
Will desperately missed his friends back home. Especially his best friend Mike. Will being Will, he never voiced this out loud, but Joyce new. He had not made any new friends, but if Joyce was being honest, she hadn’t expected him too. Will liked and was comfortable with the select group of friends he had. Jonathan’s girlfriend issues and Will’s friendship issues were not Joyce’s biggest concerns.
Eleven, her newfound daughter, was still grappling with the crippling loss of her father. Eleven always put on a brave face but Joyce could see the familiar ache in the teens eyes. She could recognize it because she had the same ache over the loss of the same man. While Joyce knew Eleven was hurting, she had no idea how to go about helping her cope. All she knew to do was hold her close and reassure her that she wasn’t going anywhere. Eleven would always nod her head in understanding, brush away any tears that had fallen from her eyes, and go about her day. She never really confided in Joyce about her feelings. While Will and Jonathon don’t tend to talk about that either, Joyce can tell how they are feeling through years of mothering by just looking at them. Eleven had just joined their family and her nuances were new to Joyce. At just fourteen the girl had gone through more than Joyce had in her entire life. How could Joyce go about unraveling and unpacking all of the trauma El had gone through to help her cope? How much more pain could she go through before she simply snapped? Hop was not the only man El had been missing. She also desperately missed Mike, her boyfriend, and all the friends she had made that she considered family. While the pain of missing her friends wasn’t as obvious as Will’s missing his friends, Joyce knew she likely missed the band of kids more than Will did. Those kids had been with her and helped her through all the problems she’d faced since she left Hawkins Lab. Joyce was now solely responsible for helping Eleven get through her past trauma’s at the lab, trauma’s post the lab, the loss of her father, and the separation of her friends. The thought kept her up at night. She had only known Eleven for two and a half years, but in those years she had developed such a deep love for the girl. She was her daughter and she would go through hell and high water to help her get through all the problems she faced.
After careful thought and consideration, Joyce decided to put Eleven in school. Dr. Owens believed it best for their cover for El go to school like every normal kid, but it took some convincing on Joyce’s end. She knew the dangers of being an outcast in school. She was bullied in high school, and her two boys had been bullied since entering grade school. Eleven had been sheltered from society for her entire life up until two years ago. How could she be expected to fit in with all the other kids?
Eventually Joyce caved in and sent Eleven to school. She had believed it to be going surprisingly well. Every afternoon El would come back home with an exciting story to tell of all she had learned and the friends she had made. Joyce was so happy that she finally got to feel like a real kid. Until one literally rainy day. Joyce was at her desk working when a loud sound that matched that of the thunder outside snapped her out of her thoughts. She realized it must be the kids and so she ran into the room, her PTSD getting the better of her.
All three teens stood drenched in the living room. Jonathan looked warily at the younger two kids, Will was glaring at Eleven as if angered by something she had done, but El just stood smiling at Joyce as though nothing were wrong.
“Will, what’s wrong?” Joyce asked, the whole situation confusing her. Will said nothing but continued to look at his sister as if he was trying to will her to talk. Eleven didn’t flinch and continued smiling as if clueless to all. Will sighed. “It’s nothing.” He said as he fast walked to his room. After the audible sound of his door closing, Eleven shifted awkwardly and then decided to make her way to her room as well. Joyce arched her eyebrows questioningly at Jonathan but he shrugged his shoulders. “Will was saying something like ‘don’t try and talk with them. It will only make it worse.’ Or something like that. He was obviously annoyed with Eleven. She just did what she was doing two seconds ago. Smiled as if nothing were wrong.” He explained. Joyce deflated as she put together the pieces of the situation. It sounded like Eleven had tried to talk with some kids at school and had been bullied. Will said something about ‘making it worse’ which likely meant it had been going on for sometime. Joyce wanted to physically slap herself for letting Eleven walk into that school. It was like serving her up to an angry pack of wolves. Jonathan went over to the phone. Maybe to call Nancy? But Joyce wandered over to El’s door. She stood with her hand on the knob ready to turn it when she heard soft sobs emitting from the room. She clutched her chest as the understanding that Eleven had been crying hit her. She thought back to her bullying talks with Will and Jonathan and readied herself to go in. The sight she was greeted with was Eleven curled up in bed, her stuffed animal in her arms. The second El realized Joyce had entered the room, she shot up from her curled position and quickly brushed away the tears. Joyce pretended like she hadn’t noticed the crying. “Hey hun. You feeling okay?” She asked as she walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Joyce placed a comforting hand on El’s ankle and El smiled at the gesture. “I’m fine Joyce. School was good. I am getting better at writing.” She said as she continued to put on a brave face. Internally Joyce sighed. She had hoped to have cracked down more of Eleven’s wall but it seemed the wall still stood tall and untraversable. Joyce didn’t want to press her luck so she smiled back and gave El an encouraging squeeze on her ankle. She was about to get up when a memory crossed her mind. Will getting home from school devastated by what bullies had said but unwilling to further elaborate on it other then that it was about his haircut.
Joyce had always cut her kids hair and it had always been a source of great memories for them. She had told Will then that if he wanted too, the next time he needed a haircut he could go to a real barber. However, she added that he shouldn’t care what the other kids think about his hair. It should only matter what he thinks of it. She also reminded him of all the good memories that they had made together when cutting his hair. In the end Will decided he wanted to keep letting his mom cut his hair, and from that day on every time Joyce cut Will and Jonathan’s hair, she cut it how they wanted it cut.
Joyce looked at Eleven who had disappeared into her own thoughts. She saw her hair which had just grown past her shoulders and thought of how proud El had been to have gotten to grow out her hair. While it was long and gorgeous, Joyce realized that Eleven had never gotten the opportunity to have her hair styled the way she wanted it to be styled. She needed to be strategic with the way she approached the topic. The last time El had her hair cut was when the lab had last shaved it. She did not want to bring up any traumatic memories.
“Hey hun?” Eleven looked up and gave a genuine smile at the pet name. “I’m about to give Will and Jonathan a hair cut. You wanna come in the living room and watch? We always have a great time with it.” Joyce asked and watched as Eleven cracked a bigger smile. “Yes.” She simply replied as she got up from her bed.
“Jonathan! Will! Time for hair cuts!” She called and the boys ran into the room shouting and whooping, slightly scaring El who was not used to hair cuts being such a fun thing. She broke into a wide grin and started laughing at the boys antics. According to Byers family rules, whoever is in the hair cutting chair gets to pick the music. Johnathan went first and blasted Bon Jovi on the speaker. Will held out his hand in a joking manner and when El grabbed it he spun her around. He felt bad for being upset with her and wanted to make it up. Johnathan showed Joyce a picture he had cut out from a magazine of a man with a long cut and bangs hanging heavily over his eyes. “You got it!” Joyce said as she grabbed the scissors and starting trimming. Eleven thought the picture looked just like finished product.
Will was next. The first song he decided to play wasn’t a big shock to anyone in the room. Should I Stay Or Should I Go played so loud on the speakers that Will had to shout for his mother to hear his instructions. He held out a cut out photo to his mother as well but it was much different from the photo Jonathan had. El thought this cut looked like a bowl turned upside down. Will loved it!
After Will’s hair cut was finished, Joyce turned down the music and walked over to Eleven while the boys discussed the newest Bon Jovi song that had just played. “That was fun.” Eleven beamed. Joyce smiled so big her cheeks hurt. “Would you like me to do something special with your hair? Of course you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.” Joyce added as she carefully watched for El’s reaction. After only a second of consideration, Eleven enthusiastically shook her head and walked over to the hair cutting chair. Will and Jonathan looked on proudly, understanding how big this moment was for their sister. “What song do you want to listen to El?” Will asked with his hand resting on the cassette tapes. Eleven took a long while to consider this as though it were the most important question she was ever asked. Then her eyes brightened and a warm smile appeared on her face as if reflecting back on a good memory. “Do you have You Don’t Mess Around With Jim?” Joyce’s heart almost stopped with the realization that Eleven had asked for Hop’s favorite song. Her eyes welled up with tears at the thought of the man and at the sweet girl she now got to call her own.
“We actually do!” Will said as he held up a tape and put it in. The song started and El remembered her dad dancing along to the song in the silliest way. She felt a hand clasp around her shoulder and looked up to see Joyce smiling down at her. She looked at her just as Hop had and a warm sensation spread throughout El. She felt completely safe under the gaze of Joyce. Joyce grabbed a brush and gently combed it through Eleven’s long locks. “Your hair is just so gorgeous El.” She said and Eleven had to put all her willpower into not crying from tears of joy. “Thank you.” She said as she relished the moment. “So, sweetie. What would you like me to do with your hair?” Eleven looked up at Joyce who was grinning big down at her. El studied her face for a long moment. She looked at Joyce’s hair and the bangs that swept across her forehead. Suddenly Eleven knew exactly what she wanted done to her hair. “I want it to look just like yours.” El said grinning, and Joyce’s heart could’ve exploded with how happy she was in that moment. Joyce knew she had a long way to go with Eleven but in that moment it didn’t matter. In her daughters eyes she saw love and adoration and in the end that is the most important ingredient to a family.