(no subject)

Hopper hasn't done anything as shitty as looking up Laura's boyfriend in the police record system, even though he's been pretty damn tempted. She's told him some things, the kinds of thing that, as a father, have made him pretty goddamn furious and he can't help but feel protective of her now, even if he knows she'd roll her eyes at him if she knew. She needs someone looking out for her, though. Not because she can't, but because it seems to Hopper like she's never really had it before.

And that just doesn't sit well with him.

So maybe this Chuck's a good guy. Probably he is. But Hopper still wants to be sure about it and so he does a little digging and figures out where the guy lives and then just makes sure to station himself in the area for a little while on a Friday afternoon. Chances are he'll come by eventually and then Hopper can figure out the rest of his plan.

Not that it's a plan. He's just got a coffee he's nursing and he's pretending to do some window shopping when he sees the guy he knows has been with Laura at a couple of parties headed down the sidewalk. Just as he's about to walk behind Hopper, he takes a step back, as if trying to appraise something in the window of the store, then steps quickly forward again at the last second, avoiding a collision.

"Shit, sorry, man," he says, turning, then recognition dawns on his face, as if he's just seen the guy. "You're Laura's boyfriend, right? Uh... Chuck?"

Hopper knows damn well what his name is.