Chapter Text
Elanor was the youngest in the facility. She hated it.
The older kids always picked on her for her size, and the fact that 'papa' took a liking to her the most. Out of all the other kids, she was special. Elanor was stronger than average and had a knack for taking things apart and rebuilding them again. Papa called her a genius. The other kids called her names that they'd learnt before papa took them into their home.
Elanor wasn't stupid, she was eleven years old - old enough to know that she was in an orphanage. The older kids always talked about it, using that word. They'd whisper and conspire on ways to escape but their attempts never worked, papa was too clever and knew how each child's mind worked.
She sat up in her small room, toes grazing the cool tile walls. She snuggled a lion stuffed animal papa said her mama left for her before she left. White tiled walls and concrete floors were all that Elanor knew when she thought of 'home'. Papa always said that the children were home now, and to enjoy their time here before the scum of the real world caught them when they turned eighteen.
Kali was Elanor's closest sister and was there for her when the bullies picked on her, defended her from their harsh words. She was the first to turn eighteen, and since then, papa had been being cold and distant towards the children. Always ordered them to mop and sweep. The only times they were allowed outside was when papa forced them to pull thorny weeds out that cut into the soft flesh of their palms and cut grass. There was a lot of grass around the orphanage.
There were four manual lawnmowers that only the older children could operate. Papa said that the machines were dangerous, and wouldn't want any of his children to get injured. Elanor and her brother Ben, were either bruised or bloody from working outside. The rocks would cut into their delicate skin and the thorns would scratch on their knobby knees. Elanor thought papa was mean for not caring for the youngest kids in the orphanage.
It was midnight on a frosty December, and Elanor couldn't sleep. The soft blue of the moon illuminated her room in a soft glow, her small window's curtains open. There was a small layer of snow over the lush grass fields surrounding the building that Elanor wanted to run around in and feel the freezing ice melt under her heels.
She was sick of being stuck in a home that didn't welcome her, a parental figure who didn't care for her, and boring activities which were just manual labour that Elanor knew papa could do it himself, ten times faster than any of the children.
Before she realised what she was doing, she slipped out of her room, and made her way to the rainbow room, grabbed a magic-8-ball that Ben would play with and tiptoed back into her room. She held her breath and counted to ten before she threw her hand back and whacked the hard plastic ball against her window. The glass smashed into shards that cut into Elanor's arm, she scrambled up from her crouched position and scrambled out the small window, running tail away from her room. The snow was cold and bit harshly on her feet as she ran towards a cobbled road, she puffed from exertion as she ran into a dense forest, hiding from the beacons of light of nightguard's flashlights.
It felt like El was running for eternity, before the dark forest gave way to a small, illuminated clearing. She panted as she fell to the floor, dirt being kicked up onto her white gown. She groaned in pain, before standing up and hobbling to where lights shone brighter down a road.
A beam of light illuminated her face, and she had barely any time to prepare for the attack from one of papa's men before-
-Before she opened her eyes when she heard a screech of tires and a small 'oof' next to her. El was greeted with the sight of a boy on the ground, next to his fallen bike. She stared at him inquisitively, before he groaned and stood up, not much taller than Elanor herself.
"Are you okay? Sorry, I didn't see you." The boy asked, eyes wide with worry as he hauled his backpack back on his shoulders.
El nodded, she felt the best she had in her whole life - free.
"Are you... lost? I don't think I've seen you around Hawkins before?"
"...Hawkins?" Elanor echoed, cocking her head to the side like a puppy.
The boy crouched down and hauled his bicycle up before continuing, "yeah. You're in Hawkins, Indy. Did you not know where you are?"
"...no. I escaped."
The boy furrowed his brows, "escaped?"
El nodded in confirmation, the boy pursed his lips, "escaped from where?"
"...bad place."
The boy was silent for a moment, before holding his hand out to El, who flinched at the sudden movement. "Come on," he said, holding onto her bony wrist gently, "I'll bring you to my home. Mum can figure things out." Elanor just obeyed and silently followed, relaxing into the boy's hold on her arm. It was comforting in a way that El didn't know could be from others that weren't Kali.
"Mum! I'm home!" The boy called out after parking his bike by the front porch steps. The door swung open to reveal a frazzled-looking woman who looked similar to the boy who helped El.
"Will! I thought you said you'd be back by 11! It's 11:15." She scolded, hugging him tightly.
Elanor now knew the boy's name, Will. She liked that name.
"Sorry mum... something came up."
"What came up baby? Everything okay" She questioned, tone softening. Will stepped to the side to reveal El, and his mum's jaw dropped. She took in El's appearance - from her bare feet to ragged white night gown stained with dirt and green foliage, to her lightly cut up rms from flying shards of glass, to her wide eyes on her scared face on a head that was buzzed to her scalp.
"..I ran into her mum, literally. I almost ran her over and she didn't know where she was, so I told her and she said she escaped from a bad place."
His mother remained silent, bringing a hand to her mouth in thought.
"Please can she stay here?"
El looked at Will, her brown eyes wide in shock.
His mother sighed, "fine. But tomorrow the chief is coming over and we are finding out why there's a runaway girl with a shaved head." She sternly said to Will whilst pointing. Will beamed and grabbed El's hand and brought her to their worn-in couch. It was soft and lumpy under her skin and made her feel a sensation of contentment the hard beds in the orphanage had stripped from her.
Will's mother walked over and kneeled in front of El, "Hon, what's your name? I'm Joyce, Will's mum. I have another son that's a few years older than Will, called Jonathan. You might see him from time to time, but don't be scared, okay?"
El nodded, "El."
"El?" Will questioned, "is that your full name?"
"Elanor. Papa named me." She sounded out slowly.
Joyce furrowed her brows in confusion just like Will did, before placing a warm hand on El's knee. "I'll ask more about that later, but for now you should get some rest." Joyce got up from her squat position with a short groan, "Will, get El some clothes that don't quite fit anymore and I'll set up your sleeping bag in your room, 'kay?"
Will nodded and turned to El, "Stay here, I'll be back with some warmer clothes."
Elanor then noticed she was shivering. In the heated building that was the orphanage she was unused to the chill that settled in her bones. She nodded in confirmation, her teeth chattering as she hugged herself to keep warm. Will quickly reappeared and handed El a sweater and some long pants, "Tell me or mum if you need more layers on, it's really cold this year."
El nodded and stood up, placing the pile of folded clothes on the couch before starting to lift her dress up.
Will's hands caught hers before she could get her dress above her thighs, a mix of bewilderment and confusion lacing his soft features, "wha.. what are you doing?" Will's voice was gentle, not like the harsh bite and sting of the other kid's and papa's questions.
El cocked her head to the side again, letting go of her dress when Will's hands loosened. "Dressing."
"You don't dress in private? In your room?"
El shook her head in disagreement, "papa says not to."
"...What happens if you do?" Will asked after a beat of silence.
El looked at the linoleum flooring, and traced her eyes to her knobby knees, filled with small scars. Will swallowed audibly, "do you... want to change in the bathroom?"
El looked at Will, at his caring eyes and warm smile he'd given her when she paused for too long. She nodded, "yes." Will curtly smiled and grabbed the change of clothes as he showed her around the small house. It was cosy.
El emerged from the bathroom warm, her nose slightly pink from the cold. Joyce placed a gentle hand on her small shoulder and warmly smiled, "let's get you to bed."
And as El snuggled into the soft and warm blanket inside a mustard yellow sleeping bag, she found herself growing tired. She hoped that the next day she would wake up and this would be real life, that she was finally free from papa and his punishments.
She had a dreamless sleep, warm and content in the early morning sunlight that filtered throughout Will's yellow toned walls.