Chapter Text
The wind smacked the window shutters against the walls of the restaurant as Jay cleaned the tables and floors. Benny had left about twenty minutes ago leaving her to clean and close up the restaurant, her bike lay by the side door waiting to be picked up. It was a decent bike ride back home but not motor bike distance that’d be used for heading to Forest Hills on the other side of town, it did feel kind of dangerous living in such proximity to the lab though.
A final sweep of the broom finishes the shift up, she walks towards the light switches flicking them off before walking to the back door to lock up completely.
By now Will should be back from the Wheeler Residence and getting ready for bed, Jonathan had to pick up a late shift at the probably closing Harbrooke Theater up north so he won’t be back for a couple hours, while mom finishes up a late shift at her work. As she walks towards her bike, she slips three burgers and two fry cartons into her basket, as she does odd sounds rustle through the woods, kicking up the stand she scurries back home to meet Will inside.
“Woosh, rat-tat-tat” the harsh winds blow on the askew door.
“Will!” Jay calls out “Where are you?”
Silence fills the space excluding the ajar door banging against the wall. She kicks the door closed behind her before locking it, placing the burgers and fries into the fridge. Jay runs though the house opening each door looking for Will, when she comes up empty her hands reach towards a notepad on the dining table and a pen as she scribbles a note for Joyce and Jonathan slapping it to the fridge under a blue cloud magnet. Jay makes her way over to her room throwing herself onto the mattress and promptly falling asleep.
NOVEMBER 7, 1983
Hawkins, Indiana
The smell of fresh bacon snuck through the house leaving a delicious scent to combat the loud blaring of the alarms. As Jay rose from her bed in her uniform she heard Jonathan walking through the hallway past her door, she quickly changed into school clothes and headed to the kitchen. Joyce was by the stove making breakfast while Jonathan was packing his bag.
“There’s burgers and fries in the fridge if any of you want them” said Jay
“Oh thank you sweetie, I’ll put some in my lunch today.” Joyce exclaimed calmly
“Has anyone seen Will? I opened his door this morning to check on him and no one was there.” asks Jonathan
Jay points towards the fridge “He wasn’t here last night and the door was ajar so I left you a note. If he doesn’t show up today one of us should head down to the Sheriff’s and ask around, maybe even report a missing person.”
“Hopefully he shows up to school then.” Joyce states
As Jonathan drives to Hawkins High, Jay pivots towards the burger joint sensing something coming.
Inside Benny’s Burgers a few customers are packed into the front getting lunches and breakfast as a young bald child sneaks through the open back door and starts eating some of the fresh fries on the counter. They accidentally knock over a fork causing Benny to turn towards the kitchen.
“Hey! You can’t be eating that without paying little boy.” He huffed
The small child looks up, their spooked eyes making contact with Benny’s firm eyes, his eyes softened seeing the fright in their eyes. Soon his eyes drifted to the tattered outfit they wore, it appeared to be a hospital gown but he couldn’t be sure.
“How about we put you in something more – comfortable” he walks over to a cabinet on the wall and picks out an out of season Benny’s Burgers branded yellow shirt for the child. “Here put this on, it’s bound to be more comfortable than that.” he points towards the dirty hospital gown. They grab the shirt out of his hands, he turns around as they swap shirts.
As Benny waits for “social services” to come in the front lobby, Jay sneaks through the back door into the kitchen.
“Jane!” she whispers
The child turns around. Their eyes light up.
She slowly steps towards her – “June?”
Jay nods. “I go by Jay now, it gives me more identity. Less prisoner, test subject vibes.”
“Identity?”
“More of a personality and character for myself.” she informs
“Oh… Is Jane — my identity?”
“Jane is the name papa stripped from you when you were placed in the lab, eleven is less humanizing than Jane ever could be.”
A knock sounds on the door closest to Benny, Jay scoots Jane closer to the back door
“We have to go now”
A female voice is heard through the restaurant.
“Frazier…” she grits out “Okay so that definitely isn't good, we have to go now.”
On their way out the back door, Jay reaches over to the metal counter and swipes his cookbook just as a gunshot sounds from the door.
The girls quickly flee into the forest before hopping onto her bike, slipping the cookbook into the front basket.
“Well there goes my waitressing gig” she jested
They take a side route to the Byers home so they aren’t followed, as they enter she tells Jane to wait on the couch before she walks towards the phone and calls the police to report an overheard gunshot at Benny’s while slipping the cookbook into a cupboard.
“Joyce shouldn’t be back until later and Jonathan is actually attending school, so no one should be bothering us for a while.”
Jane’s eyes drift over to a photo of Will and his friends
“Oh that’s Will, my younger brother and his friend Lucas, Mike and Dustin.”
She nods slowly “W-will…”
Jay nods in response “Yup Will.” she tilts her head curiously “Do you know something?”
She looks down
“Okay so probably, well we’ve probably gotta change locations briefly. Let’s fix you into something more comfortable, follow me” Jay turns towards the hall and gestures for Jane to follow her. “My clothes might not fit you seeing as I’m taller but we can check some out and some of the boys old clothes too.”
They walk into Jay’s room first trying on some of her old clothes, her hands are drawn towards an old colourful triangle patterned shirt. “Do you want to try it on? I think you’ll like it” Jane nods “Okay follow me to the bathroom,”
She goes to the bathroom and tries on the shirt
“So what do you think?” asks Jay “Do you like it?”
“I – I think I do.”
“Okay! That’s good. How about we find some pants to go with it. We can check out my small wigs collection too. They’re looking for someone with a shaved head — this will get them off the scent.”
Jane walks towards the pants pile, discarding the yellow Benny’s Burgers shirt on the floor. Her hands slowly enclose a pair of long navy jeans. “Can I try these?”
“Ya of course.”
Jane heads out of the room to try on the jeans
“We might have some shoes that could fit you, and probably socks as well” Jay calls out
Jane returns from the bathroom in her triangle shirt and new jeans, Jay grabs a pair of socks and hands them to her.
“Put these on, then we’ll look at shoes.”
She slips on the socks before following Jay to and old shoe collection
“We don’t have a whole lot of money but at least one of these is bound to fit”
Her hands land on an old pair of blue and grey sneakers “These might fit.”
She passes them to Jane. Her feet slip into the shoes.
“I’m assuming you probably don’t know how to lace these yet? Here I can teach you.” Her hands guide Jane's over the laces showing her the pattern.
“There. All set.” Jay smiles, “We’re gonna take a brief road trip to Forest Hills, I know some people there who can give you shelter.”
She caresses her head “You’ll fit right in –”
Outside Jay’s motorcycle lay next to an empty car park
She tosses Jane a helmet “You’ll need this, don’t want to have you smashed against the pavement.”
“Smashed?”
“Injured. Dead. Headless.”
“Do you know how to use this?”
“Yes — I just don’t legally have a licence for it.”
“Ah.”
“Well no time like the present.”
She puts on the helmet and hopes on the back of the bike
“One day I'll teach you how to ride a bike”
“Like this?”
“No. This is definitely more dangerous than the bike my brother uses. Something like the one he uses.”
They head out towards Forest Hills near the other side of town.