Mystery Shack {Stranger Things}

•pyscho•

"You're insane, Wheeler. Goodnight."

The kids brought the strange girl back to Mike's house. She was now wearing Dipper's coat, but it still didn't make her feel any less cold. The group had no clue what to do, or what they'd gotten themselves into.

"Is there a number we can call for your parents?" Mike asked, staring down at her.
"Where's your hair?" Dustin asked, "Do you have cancer?"

Mabel slapped Dustin on the shoulder.

"God, Dustin! You can't just ask people if they have cancer," she scolded.
"Did you run away?" Dipper asked, curious about the new girl.
"Are you in some kind of trouble?" Mike asked.
"Is that blood?" Mabel asked hesitantly, feeling nervous.
"You guys are freaking her out," Dipper stated, trying to push all the boys and Mabel away from her.
"She's freaking me out!" Lucas hollered.
"I bet she's deaf," Dustin suggested.

He proceeded to clap, causing the timid girl to jump back. She clearly wasn't deaf.

"All right, that's enough, all right? She's just scared and cold," Mike pointed out, making all the kids cease talking.

Mike ran over to his laundry basket, grabbing some of his clothing for her to change into. Mabel noticed the small girl cringing and cowering at the sound of the thunder.

This poor thing....

"Here, these are clean, okay?" Mike held out the clothes for the girl.

She took them slowly, almost like she was scared they'd hurt her. She then put them to her face. It seemed like it was the only comfort she had ever had. She stood up, removing Dipper's jacket, then going to remove her shirt.

"No, no, no!" All the boys screamed, covering their eyes.

Mabel sprinted over to her side, grabbing on to her arms to stop her.

"Oh my god, oh my god," Dustin huffed, clearly scarred.

"Here, come with me," Mabel said quickly, grabbing onto the girl's small wet hand, pulling her towards the bathroom.

The girl picked up her clothes and followed, but walked slowly as if she was unsure.

"This is the bathroom," Mabel stated once she arrived at a small door, "You go in here and change. It'll give you privacy."

The girl walked into the bathroom, glancing around at her surroundings. Mabel went to shut the door, but was stopped by a hand. The girl's hand.

"You don't want it closed?" Mabel asked.
"No," the girl responded quietly.
"You can speak!" Mabel smiled.

The girl seemed unresponsive to Mabel's excitement.

"Okay... So how about I leave the door open just a crack? Is that okay?" Mabel asked, slowly shifting the door so it was barely open.
"Yes," the girl responded.

Mabel smiled and walked back to the boys, leaving the strange girl to get changed.

"This is mental," Dustin stated.
"At least she can talk," Mike pointed out, going by what Mabel had told them.
"She said 'no' and 'yes'," Lucas scoffed to Mike, "Your three year old sister says more."
"That is true," Dipper agreed, shrugging.
"She tried to get naked," Dustin shouted once more.
"There's something seriously wrong with her," Lucas stated, "Like, wrong in the head."
"She just went like..." Dustin did the motion of pulling his clothes off, accidentally knocking his cap off his head.
"She seems okay to me," Mabel shrugged, not really phased by weird stuff anymore.
"What if she escaped from Pennhurst?" Lucas asked.
"From where?" Mabel and Mike asked in sync.
"The nuthouse in Kerley County," Lucas replied, causing Mabel to form an 'O' shape with her mouth.
"You got a lot of family there?" Dustin joked.
"Bite me," Lucas hissed.
"Maybe Lucas is right," Dipper added, "I mean, think about it. It would explain why she has a shaved head and why she almost stripped in front of us."
"She's probably a psycho," Lucas concluded, "We never should have brought her here."
"I can't believe you guys! You just wanted to leave her out in that storm?" Mabel asked angrily.

She loved her friends, but they were being cruel right now. This poor girl was lost and frightened.

"We went out to find Will, not another problem," Lucas stated.
"I think we should tell your mom," Dustin whispered.
"I second that," Dipper agreed.
"No way!" Mabel and Mike cried out at the same time.
"Why not?" Lucas replied.
"Well, for starters, we weren't supposed to be out tonight," Mike reminded the group.
"So?"
"So, if I tell my mom, and she tells your mom, and your mom, and your uncles..."
"Oh, fuck," Dipper mumbled.
"Our houses become Alcatraz," Lucas mumbled in defeat.
"Exactly."

Dipper, Lucas, and Dustin seemed at a loss for words. They knew this was a bad idea, but they wanted to cover their asses more.

"Here's the plan. She sleeps here tonight," Mike spoke up.

The boys erupted into questions.

"Just listen," Mike shushed, "In the morning, she sneaks around my house, goes to the front door and rings my doorbell. My mom will answer and know exactly what to do. She'll send her back to Pennhurst or wherever she comes from. We'll be totally in the clear. And tomorrow night, we go back out. And this time, we find Will."

The group, Mabel being the exception, reluctantly agreed. The boys headed upstairs, ready to sneak out.

Mabel approached Mike.

"If anything happens, Mike, call me."

Mike nodded. Mabel gave him a hug, shocking him. He hesitantly returned it, always getting nervous when making contact with the girl of his dreams.

"You're insane, Wheeler. Goodnight," she whispered into his ear.

And with that, the rest of the group headed out of the Wheeler house, and into the night