"Yeah, he really is," Steve says with a sigh, furrowing his brow a bit. After some introspection after all that shit with Nancy, Steve had realized that maybe part of the reason that he acted like such an asshole for so long was because he thought his dad might actually be proud of him, in some way. Not to completely shift the blame, because ultimately it was his own fault that he was such an asshole, but that sure didn't help.

Now he couldn't really be bothered to give a shit what his dad thinks of him and it seems like it doesn't even matter anymore anyway, because his dad isn't here.

He listens to Hopper while he speaks and lets him clean up his face, because it feels kind of nice to be taken care of, even if it is by some guy he doesn't even know all that well.

"But you were in Hawkins that whole time," Steve finally says, looking up at Hopper in confusion. "So-- you were there and here? Does that mean that I'm still back home too? God, this hurts my brain."