"Yeah, San Diego. Dad yanked our fucking roots up to get to that shithole of a town." But talking about the real world and not the Upside Down was helping. Putting him back in the reality and not in his trauma response. Good, this was good.

"The cabin still needs fixing. I'm gonna have to do some work before winter if I want to keep most of the cold out. Been meaning to find a guy named Reeve. The aliens keep throwing obstacles in the way." He really has been meaning to. Right now it seems like winter's going to be a bit on the extra cold side for him. Billy makes a mental note to stop by the hotel to gather some extra blankets or maybe put a call out for them.

Blue eyes look her over. The important thing is he's seeing her and not some creepy other-verse shit. "Been in Hawkins your whole life I guess?"