Yeah. The land of corn and the Indy 500, barely any hills and a lot of goddamn nothing. Good ol' Indiana. ( honestly, in a lot of ways, Steve wishes Hawkins was as boring as Indiana sounds on paper. his life would be a lot easier. he'd have a lot less demobat bites all over his goddamn body, too! he can't help the distant bitter tone in his voice, though for all intents and purposes, Jackie might just perceive he's frustrated with the quiet midwest, not that Upside Down bullshit just happens so much.

at least the pain of cleaning him up is keeping him from getting too frustrated with how ridiculous his life is, lately. sobers him, and Jackie even throws him a bone by bringing up something a lot more interesting than small town Indiana. he grips the counter miserably, trying to keep from grimacing or making any mumbles of pain. jesus this hurts. hopefully she'll be done soon. his voice is a little raw when he speaks again. )

The big city, huh? ( that's cool. he's been to New York (not quite the same as Jersey, but close enough. right?) for a game. Yankees. it had seemed a little unreal, a cool modern place with detached, trendy people. it's hard to imagine living there. ) Why's that? What's Asbury like?