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“-And that’s when we found her soaked in the forest,” Mike finishes, his hands placed in his lap. The three boys sat on the couch after you had ordered them to explain the situation they’ve found themselves in, and dragged you along for the ride.
“Yeah, she practically scared the shit out of us,” Lucas adds, prompting Dustin to slap his side. You’re now standing in front of them, slightly swaying from side to side as you focus on processing the information they’ve given you, eyes trained on the floor - you don’t know what to make of it all.
“So, what should we do?” Lucas speaks up after a few seconds of silence, and you bring your gaze up to him.
“Well,” You start, placing your hands on your hips, “She’s obviously running from something. Probably an abusive parent, you know?” Dustin looks at you as the words leave your mouth, and he gulps, “If that’s the case, then we should call the police.”
“We can’t do that. Remember what the chief said? You weren’t supposed to be out tonight?” The last few remaining words are spoken through your gritted teeth, reminding the kids that they aren’t entirely out of the woods yet.
“So?” Lucas asks, shoulders shrugging as he looks between you and your brother.
“ So , if I tell my mom, and she tells your mom,” Mike says as he begins to follow your train of thought. The gears in his brain are turning, you can tell he’s starting to plan something.
“Our houses become Alcatraz,” Lucas comes to the conclusion and runs his hand down his cheek. With a face filled with determination, Mike jumps up from the couch and stands beside you, “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. She’ll stay here tonight-”
“You’re letting a girl stay over?” Dustin practically screams, and you shush him quickly before he derails Mike’s idea and alerts the family upstairs.
“She’ll go to the front door during breakfast and my mom will know exactly who to call. Then we’ll be home free,” Mike smiles at his plan before looking up at you for your approval.
Nancy’s always been distant with him, especially after starting high school. You’ve been glad to step up and offer him advice when he needs it, knowing that his real sister won’t give it to him.
“Sounds pretty good, Michael,” Your head tilts to the side as you mirror his smile, “Now we just gotta make sure it all goes accordingly.”
The chilly November wind blows easily through your jacket. You think that you should’ve worn more layers as you cross your arms over your chest.
“Mike’s late today,” Dustin says as he looks at his watch. The two of you and Lucas have been waiting at the Maple Street stop sign for five minutes - Mike’s always on time.
“Bet you a dollar his plan didn’t work, Y/N,” Lucas turns to you, a grin spread over his lips. You snort, reaching your hand out, “I’ll take that bet, Sinclair.” The two of you shake on it, eager to find out if he’s right.
Just as your hands pull apart, Mike appears from around the corner, flying like the wind on his bike. The three of you hop on yours and pedal up to join him.
“So, how’d it go?” Dustin asks, circling around the rest of you, voice teasing Mike as he glares.
“It didn’t work, El wouldn’t go up, “ Mike responds, his bangs blowing back.
“El?” Lucas questions, confusion evident by his expression.
“Yeah, El. Short for Eleven,” Mike answers.
“Hold on,” You start, “Her name’s Eleven, like the number?”
“Yeah, she has it tattooed on her wrist.”
“A tattoo? Seriously ?” Dustin shouts as you four turn towards the schools. You break at the intersection, careful not to get almost run over again.
“Whatever, okay? The plan didn’t work, so we have to regroup. My place, after school, you too Y/N,” Mike says and the kids start to bike off.
You stop Lucas by pulling his arm, “Wait - here.” Four, shiny silver quarters are pulled from your jacket’s pocket and placed in his palm, “You won, fair and square.”
Lucas’ face lights up at your gesture and he slaps your shoulder, “Awesome, thanks! Dragon’s Lair , here I come!” He speeds off before you can get another word in.
Your fingers still shake from the cold as the knob for your locker spins beneath your fingers. Of course you mess it up the first time.
You psych yourself up before trying it again, muttering the digits beneath your breath. The latch moves easily under your grip, and it swings open. You grab your essentials for the day, the weight of it all making your arm grow tired. Just as you’re about to head off to class, someone taps you on the shoulder.
“Hey, Y/N,” Nancy Wheeler says, a small and remorseful grin on her face. Her gentle voice sends flashes of memories through your mind.
Picnics in the summer, her hair spread out in the grass while you weaved it into thick braids, making stories out of the shapes of the clouds. Staying up ‘till two to watch for shooting stars, pulling blankets over your shoulders while she made hot chocolate in the kitchen.
Your heart sinks at the sight of her; knowing how she left you in the dust, how horribly she treats Mike, how she could ever fall for an idiot like Steve Harrington. It takes every piece of self-control you have not to turn and look away from her.
“Oh, hi Nancy,” Her expression falters a bit seeing the disappointment in your eyes, hearing your sad tone. She takes a breath before leaning on the column beside you, “How’s your brother doing?”
“He’s okay. Everything with Will is taking a toll on him, I think,” You say, desperate to get her away from you so you can stop thinking about before.
“Yeah, Mike’s been pretty worried too,” She sighs, adjusting her books in her arms, “But you would know that, wouldn’t you?” A laugh bubbles from her lips, “I really appreciate that you’ve still been hanging with Mike.”
You nod slightly, turning back towards your locker, “Yeah, well, somebody’s gotta keep him in line, right?”
“For sure,” She looks down to her feet briefly, not catching onto your dig at her expense, “Anyways-”
“Hey, Nance!” Nancy turns to look over her shoulder, where Steve’s calling her over by the bathroom. She swivels and waves to him before he gestures her over more enthusiastically.
“Listen, I’ll see you around, okay?” She hurries toward Steve, leaving you alone again.
“Yeah, sure, Wheeler,” Your tone’s bitter as you shut your locker and notice Jonathan by the message board, pinning something up. He wipes his nose with his sleeve, and you frown at the thought of how this must be affecting him. Your feet carry you over, clearing your throat to announce yourself.
“Hey Jonathan, how’s it going?” You ask. The corkboard now has a missing poster on it with information about Will. The polaroid of the young boy highlights the innocence behind his eyes, making it harder to swallow that this poor child is lost somewhere - that something happened to him.
“Oh, yeah, hi Y/N,” He says, voice low, “I can’t stick around-”
“I know, I get it. But if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call, okay?” He nods and exits out the doors to the left. You sigh, wishing that all of this would just be over already, and it’s barely been a day.
It doesn’t go by any differently than before. Head stuck in the clouds about Will - about Eleven. She had completely slipped your mind. What are you going to do if she can’t be helped by the government? Take her under your wing too? It’s all too much, too overwhelming.
“Ms. Henderson!” The sound of your seventh-period Biology teacher slamming their ruler on your desk snaps you back from your thoughts. You must’ve drifted your focus from the assignment unknowingly.
“If you can’t pay attention-”
“No, I’m sorry, I’m just preoccupied with something else,” The teacher huffs at your poor excuse and you feel your cheeks burn with embarrassment, “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
The teacher leaves and you hear the snickers of Tommy and Carol come from the desks in the back. Closing your eyes and gripping your pencil tighter, you steady yourself with some deep breaths, effectively throwing yourself into your work.
“Wait, you skipped today?” You ask Mike as he leads you up to the front door, followed closely by Lucas and Dustin. Mike sighs, “Yes, okay? Jesus, calm down. I had to be here for El.” You roll your eyes after scuffing your Nike sneakers on the welcome mat, knowing how tidy and clean Karen likes to keep her home.
It smells like freshly baked bread and a cinnamon nutmeg candle; the same one that’s always burning at the Wheeler’s. The scent reminds you of your first few days in Hawkins, when you were welcomed with open arms by Nancy and her family. Now, it’s just like a bad trip.
The four of you head up to Mike’s room, much to your surprise. Eleven’s sat on the bottom bunk, a Yoda action figure Dustin gifted in her hands.
“Great, she’s still here,” Lucas’ tone is dry and plain, throwing his hands up in defeat, “I thought we were going to tell your mom!”
“Yeah, we were!” Mike argues back, “But that’s changed, El told me that she’s in danger.”
“What kind of danger, Mike?” Dustin asks. Mike pauses and makes eye contact with each of you, “Grave danger, like ‘she’s gonna get killed’ kind of danger.”
“Jesus Christ,” you mutter, running your fingers through your hair. Lucas isn’t having any of this, his temper bubbles up quickly after that.
“Come on, man! We gotta tell somebody!” He turns and pulls the door open with unnecessary strength, and you catch it in your hand, intending on following him out.
The door gets yanked from your grasp by an unseen force and slammed shut so hard the lamp on the bedside table falls to the floor. You manage to grab Lucas and pull him out of the way, and the lock turns once you take a breath to steady yourself.
Eleven stood up from the mattress, her gaze unyielding and fierce towards you and Lucas. A single drop of blood leaks from her nostril and you gasp, realizing the force came from her. The small, weak child your brother and his friends stumbled upon in the woods is definitely no ordinary kid, that’s for sure.
“No,” She orders.
“Okay, all I found was popcorn and M&Ms,” Dustin says as he carefully places the bowl of snacks in front of Eleven. She hides inside a pillow and blanket fort that Mike must’ve made for her after you left last night.
“Where’s all the food you stole from the house for your little rescue mission?” You ask, arms crossed over your chest, weight on one hip. Dustin points to the trash can in the corner of the room; you groan, eyes rolling back into your head.
“So what do we do now?” You bring your hands down to dry them on your jeans. The very idea of protecting and housing a fugitive makes your head fuzzy and palms clammy.
“She knows about Will,” Mike responds, “She recognized him in a photo upstairs.” He approaches Eleven on the ground, meeting her at eye level, “They’re not going to hurt you. They were just scared earlier, that’s all.”
“We won’t tell about you either. We didn’t know you had superpowers!” Dustin adds. Mike hits him in the shin.
“We just really want to find our friend, we’re worried about him,” Lucas adds. Eleven’s brow furrows slightly, “What - is friend?”
“It’s someone you would do anything for. Protect them, care for them…” You trail off. Mike nods, trying to get her to understand, “Yeah, they’ll never break a promise and friends don’t lie.” Eleven hums in agreement. Her gaze moves to the table behind you where the Dungeons and Dragons board is set up.
She gets up and moves to it, pulling a chair out before sitting. The rest of you turn your attention to her, watching intently as she places her hands on either side of the board. After a few seconds, she picks up Will’s piece and mutters his name, moving that piece and the others to the side.
Eleven then wipes the rest of the board clean, knocking everything to the concrete beneath your feet. She flips the board in her hands and sets it back down.
“I don’t understand,” Lucas whispers as not to disturb her. You quickly grab the chair next to her and sit as she slams Will’s piece on top of the glossy black surface.
“Hiding,” She says softly, concentrated on the pieces in her line of sight. You press against your arms, leaning forward towards Eleven, “From who?”
“The bad men?” Mike asks, to which she shakes her head.
“If not from them, then from who?” You question. She grabs another one of the pieces - the Demogorgon, and sets it next to Will.
Chills run from the base of your neck down through your spine, and you bring a hand to your mouth in shock.
“Holy shit,” You breathe out, looking over to your brother, who’s resting his hands on top of his hat. His expression matches yours exactly. You catch the time on the clock right behind Dustin’s head, and you’re almost late for work.
“Christ, okay,” You push up from the table and grab your bag from the couch, “I gotta bolt. Don’t do anything stupid, please, for my sake?” You pull the kids in for hugs, pressing a kiss to the top of Dustin’s head, more worried for his safety than ever before. Bad men and monsters? It’s all too much, and yet strangely, you believe it.
“We promise, Y/N,” Dustin says, sending you a small smile. A weight gets lifted from your shoulders at his word, and exit the basement.
Last delivery of the night. The only thing that stands between you and the safety of your home is two large pepperoni pizzas.
The idea of there being a monster out in these woods, although you’re not quite sure about that theory - it still scares the shit out of you, especially when you’re biking past the same place where Will would’ve disappeared. You try not to think about it too hard.
You look down to the piece of paper the address is scribbled on, double-checking to guarantee you made the right turn. Without the kids around to guide you, you’re practically lost.
“Aw shit,” You mumble, recognizing the maroon car in the driveway, “Seriously?” You close your eyes in frustration as you push a breath through your lungs. Of course, it had to be this house.
Balancing the boxes on your arm, you ring the doorbell and pray to every deity in the heavens that the music doesn’t drown it out - you’re not going to stand here all night.
After a few seconds of waiting, Steve opens the door. He’s got a beer in his hand and a cigarette tucked behind his ear, something you would consider extremely hazardous.
“Awesome, right on time,” He sets down his drink before grabbing the boxes from you, “How much?”
“Oh, um ten bucks even,” You respond.
“Carol!” Steve shouts over his shoulder, “Get your ass over here!” You notice Nancy and Barb sitting on the steps behind him.
You’re surprised Nancy was able to convince her to come to Harrington’s place. With all the stories that come out of the parties that happen here, you don’t blame the look on her face.
Carol and Tommy pop up behind Steve, clearly intoxicated with at least a couple of drinks. “Here, take these. I gotta grab some cash,” He says as passes the pizzas to them before disappearing, “Hold on.”
You clear your throat to help break the awkwardness, leaning to press your shoulder into the door jam as you wait. Carol smirks after one glance of your hat that graces the logo of the small parlor. She passes the pizzas to Tommy, her tone dripping in sarcasm, “Nice hat.”
Steve reappears, taking a swig of his drink with the money in hand. You look back at Carol with a shit-eating grin on your face, “Thanks. I like your hair color too, by the way. Any chance that’s natural?” Her mouth drops open at your snarky comment - Steve chokes on his beer.
“For that,” He hands you a twenty-dollar bill, “You can keep the change.” Carol turns to him, face unchanging, and you hear Tommy call you a bitch. Steve shuts the door and you bound back towards your set of wheels, eager to get back home - but with a smirk still on your face and Steve Harrington’s twenty in your back pocket.