Always The Babysitter; A Stranger Things Rewrite

chapter two: the weirdo on maple street

The boys and I brought this scared, soaked girl back to the Wheeler's basement without Mr. or Mrs. Wheeler knowing. Score One.

I watched as this little girl breathed so heavily that I thought I'd have to give her a brown paper bag to breathe in. I was sitting next to her, arm wrapped around her shoulders. We had to convince her that I wasn't a bad person and that she was in good hands with us, especially me.

The boys looked at me, expectantly. I rolled my eyes and looked at her profile, beginning my questioning. "Sweetie, is there a number we can call for your parents?"

She looked at me, fear in her eyes.

Dustin then asked the dumbest questions alive, "Where's your hair? Do you have cancer?"

"Dustin!" I scolded.

"Did you run away?" Lucas asked.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" Mike asked.

"Is that blood?"

"Boys!" I exclaimed, quietly. "You're freaking her out!"

"She's freaking me out!"

"Lucas!"

"I bet she's deaf," Dustin piped up. He looked at her and clapped her in her face, causing her and I to jump back. "Not deaf."

"Oh, my god, you're so fucking stupid," I sighed. "Boys, that's enough. She's just scared and cold. Mike, do you have anything she can borrow? Clothing wise?"

He turned around and went to the basket that was perched on top of the dryer, bringing back some of his dad's sweatpants and a sweatshirt. As he did this, thunder clapped, making this scared little girl jump and close her eyes. I held her tightly, but gently, quietly telling her that it was going to be alright.

Handing the clothes to her, Mike said, "These are clean, okay?"

She took them from his hands, brushing the soft fabric on her face. She set them down on my lap, looking me in the eyes before brushing off my jacket that I had given her and standing, reaching for the hem of her shirt.

The boys started to exclaim their no's as I jumped up, placing my hands on her shoulders. "There's a bathroom right over there," I said, her and I locking eyes. "I'll walk you over there and you change into these, okay? I'll stand right outside the bathroom door, okay?"

She nodded before I walked her over to the bathroom, closing the door behind her when she gave me a curt nod. She quickly opened it, though, the fear very much evident in her eyes. "No."

I smiled and quietly said, "She speaks. How about this; we leave it cracked and I'll turn my back so that the boys don't see, okay? I'll still be standing right here. When you're done changing, just reach through and tap me on the shoulder to let me know you're done. Sound good?" I smiled at her to show her that I wasn't dangerous and that she could trust me.

"Yes," she said.

"Okay," I whispered, smiling softly. I pulled the door until there was a decent sized opening before I turned around, seeing the boys eyeing me.

"This is mental," Dustin said.

"At least she can talk," I said.

"She said no and yes," Lucas said. "Mike's three year old sister can say more."

"Yes, I'm aware that Holly can say more, but we don't know what she's been through or where she came from," I retorted.

"Liv, she tried to get naked," Dustin said.

"Maybe she doesn't know any better," I suggested.

"There's something seriously wrong with her," Lucas said. "Like, wrong in the head."