THE WEIRDO ON MAPLE STREET
THUNDER CONTINUES CRASHING and rain keeps pouring as Mike and the rest of the party stand in his basement, looking curiously at the strange girl they found in the woods.
"Is there a number we can call for your parents?" Mike asks the girl, who looks up at him with a confused and terrified look on her face.
"Where's your hair?" Dustin questions, making the girl look over to him now, "Do you have cancer?"
"Did you run away?" Lucas asks, causing the girl to look over at him now, the look of terror and confusion not leaving her face and no sign of her answering any questions.
"Are you in some kind of trouble?" Melanie asks in a soft, smooth tone of voice, trying not to frighten the girl. Although, the boys keep on interrogating the girl.
"Is that blood?" Lucas questions, reaching to feel her shirt and see if it is actually blood. Melanie and Mike slap Lucas's hand away at the same time, hitting each others hands in the process.
"You're freaking her out!" Mike shouts.
"She's freaking me out!" Lucas defends.
"I bet she's deaf." Dustin suggests, then proceeds to clap his hands in front of her face. She flinches back at the noise, and Melanie rolls her eyes. "Not deaf." Dustin adds.
"Alright, that's enough, all right?" Mike scolds, "She's just scared and cold."
Thunder strikes once again as Mike turns around and rushes to his laundry basket, pulling out some clothes to give to the girl.
Thunder crashes closer to the house, causing the girl to flinch and close her eyes, terrified of the noise. Lucas and Dustin look at her weirdly and Melanie gives her a sympathetic look.
Mike comes back and holds the clothes out for the girl to take, "Here, these are clean. Okay?"
She takes the clothes, using them to first wipe the rain off her face. She then stands up and starts to undress in front of the group when everybody starts talking over each other to stop her. Mike, Lucas, and Dustin turn around, freaked out that she just tried to change in front of them.
"See over there?" Melanie cautiously puts her arm on the girls shoulder and points at the bathroom, "That's the bathroom. Privacy. Get it?"
The girl grabs the clothes and walks towards the bathroom, Mike following close behind.
When the girl walks in, Mike tries to shut the door, but the girl pulls it open.
"You don't want it closed?" Mike asks.
"No." The girl responds, taking her hand off the door.
"Oh, so you can speak." Mike says, taking a hold of the door again, "Okay, well...how about we just keep the door..." Mike pulls the door slightly closed, leaving about 3 inches of room on the door open, "Just like this. Is that better?"
"Yes."
Mike nods at the girl, giving her a small smile before walking away to where the rest of the party is standing, leaving the girl to change.
"This is mental." Dustin declares.
"At least she can talk." Mike mentions.
"She said 'No' and 'Yes'. Your three year old sister says more." Lucas argues.
"She tried to get naked." Dustin adds.
"There's something seriously wrong with her." Lucas comments, "Like, wrong in the head."
"She went like," Dustin says, then mimicking what the girl did earlier when she was trying to get undressed in front of the party, knocking his hat off.
"I bet she escaped from Pennhurst." Lucas exclaimed.
"From where?" Mike asked.
"The nuthouse in Kerley County."
"You got a lot of family there?" Melanie asks.
"Bite me." Lucas utters, "Seriously though, think about it. That would explain her shaved hair and why she's so crazy."
"Why she went like..." Dustin starts mimicking what the first did once again, not seeming to move on from the fact she tried to get undressed in front of them.
"She's an escapee is the point. She's probably a psycho." Lucas declares.
"Like Michael Myers." Dustin comments, starting to agree with Lucas.
"Exactly!" Lucas exclaimed, "We should've never brought her here!"
"So you just wanted to leave her out in that storm?" Mike asks, annoyed.
"Yes!" Lucas answers, "We went out there to find Will, not another problem."
"I think we should tell your mom." Melanie suggests.
"I second that." Dustin says.
"Who's crazy now?" Mike questions.
"How is that crazy?" Lucas asks in response.
"Because, we weren't supposed to be out tonight, remember?"
"So?"
"So if I tell my mom and she tells your mom and your mom..."
"Oh man." Dustin mutters in terror.
"Our houses become Alcatraz." Lucas says, catching on.
"Exactly." Mike agrees, "We'll never find Will."
Dustin turns to Melanie, mimicking the girl trying to undress once more with a look of "She's crazy" on his face. Melanie pushes him and looks back at the rest of the group when Mike starts speaking.
"Here's the plan. She sleeps here tonight."
"You're letting a girl-" Dustin gets cut off by Mike, "Just listen! 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 whatever she comes from. We'll be totally in the clear. Tomorrow night we go back out, and this time we find Will."
Dustin, Lucas, and Melanie all look at each other before deciding it's time they should leave. As they walk up the stairs of the basement, they all look back down at the girl.
"Do you really think she's psycho?" Dustin asks.
"Wouldn't want her in my house." Lucas replies, walking up the stairs and Dustin follows. Melanie stays back for a minute, watching Mike and the girl's interaction before leaving.
Melanie's heart hurts a bit. She knows he's just helping her, but she doesn't know what could happen over there. Did she like him? Maybe. Possibly.
Yes.
MELANIE, LUCAS, AND Dustin all walk into their class together, taking a seat and realizing that Mike still isn't at school.
"Oh, this is weird." Dustin speaks up, "He's never this late."
"I'm telling you his stupid plan failed." Lucas declares.
"I thought you liked his plan." Melanie states in a tone that's more of a question.
"Yeah, but obviously it was stupid or else he would be here." Lucas argues.
"If his mom found out a girl spent the night-" Dustin starts before Lucas cuts him off, "He's in deep shit right about now."
"Hey," Dustin whispers, turning to Lucas, "what if she slept naked?"
"Oh my god, she didn't."
"Oh, if Mrs. Wheeler tells my parents..." Dustin worries.
"No way," Lucas jumps up, "Mike would never rat us out."
"I don't know."
"All that matters is, after school the freak will be back in the loony bin, and we can focus on what really matters: finding Will." Lucas announces. Melanie does really want to just find Will already. She's worried.
Mr. Clarke starts the lesson, so the group stops talking and focusses on school, the thoughts of where Mike is, what happened, where Will went, and the girl still on the backs of their minds.
AFTER THE SCHOOL day ends, the group rides over to Mike's house to see where he was and what the hell happened.
Inside, they just stare at the girl now sitting on Mike's bed. Dustin shuts the door and keeps on staring at the strange girl, her staring back.
"Are you out of your mind?" Lucas speaks up.
"Just listen to me." Mike defends.
"You are out of your mind!"
"She knows about Will."
"What do you mean she knows about Will?" Dustin asks, scared on how she would know.
"She pointed at him," Mike replies, "at his picture. She knew he was missing. I could tell."
"You could tell?" Lucas questions.
"Just think about it." Mike begins, "Do you really think it was a coincidence that we found her on Mirkwood, the same place Will disappeared?"
"That is weird." Dustin states.
"And she said bad people were after her." Mike continues, "I think maybe these bad people are the same people that took Will. I think she knows what happened to him."
"Then why doesn't she tell us?" Lucas questions, making the whole group turn and walk towards the girl.
"Do you know where he is?" Lucas interrogates, then grabs the girls shoulders and shouts in her face, "Do you know where he is?"
"Stop it, you're scaring her!" Mike calls out.
"She should be scared! If you know where he is, tell us!"
The girl looks up at Lucas with tears in her eyes, obviously frightened by the tone of his voice.
"This is nuts!" Lucas shouts, "We have to take her to your mom."
"No!" Mike argues, "Eleven said telling any adult would put us in danger."
"What kind of danger?" Dustin mutters.
"Her name's Eleven?" Melanie questions.
"El for short." Mike replies.
"Mike, what kind of danger?" Dustin asks much louder this time.
"Danger danger." Mike replies, not really answering the question. He then proceeds to lift his hand in the shape of a gun and puts in on Dustin's forehead. He moves it to Melanie and then to Lucas who slaps Mike's hand away.
"No, no, no!" Lucas exclaims, "We're going back to plan A. We're telling your mom."
Lucas pushes Dustin and Melanie out of the way then goes to open the door, to which is slams shut without anybody pulling or pushing it, causing Lucas to shoot his hand up in the air. He tries once more, and the door slams shut once again and the door locks. The whole groups turns to Eleven, who is still sitting on the bed but now with a bloody nose.
"No."
AT THE DINNER table, Melanie, Lucas, Dustin, and Mike barely eat, terrified of what happened with Eleven. They play with their food, obviously having something else on their minds.
"Something wrong with the meatloaf?" Mrs. Wheeler speaks up, causing the group to look up at her instantly.
"Oh, no, I had two bologna sandwiches for lunch." Dustin plays it off, "I don't know why."
"Me too." Lucas adds, smiling.
"It's delicious, mommy." Nancy says.
"Thank you, sweetie." Mrs. Wheeler replies.
Melanie turns over to Mike while Nancy and Mrs. Wheeler talk.
"Did you know she could do that?" Melanie asks, referring to Eleven having powers. He shakes his head no, then shushes Melanie because they're in front of his parents.
"...Barb's driving." Nancy adds on to her previous statements, although Melanie and Mike never heard what that was.
"Why am I just hearing about this?" Mrs. Wheeler questions, cutting into her meatloaf.
"I thought you knew." Nancy replies.
"I told you, I don't want you out after dark until Will is found."
"I know, I know, but it'd be super weird if I'm not there. I mean, everyone's going."
Mrs. Wheeler sighs, considering it before speaking up, "Just...be back by 10:00."
Nancy nods and goes back to eating her food while Mrs. Wheeler says, "Why don't you take the group too?"
"No!" Mike shouts immediately while Lucas, Dustin, and Melanie all shake their heads no while using their mouths to indicate no.
"Don't you think you should be there?" Mrs. Wheeler questions, "For Will?"
Eleven walks down the stairs behind Mrs. Wheeler and Mike spits out his milk after seeing that. Mrs. Wheeler starts to turn around but Dustin slams his fists on the table. Part of the milk Mike spit out landed on Melanie, and her jaw drops.
"Sorry. Spasm." Dustin apologizes. Mike gets up and goes to help Melanie clean up his mess.
"Disgusting." She whispers.
"I am so sorry." He apologizes quietly. She laughs and shakes her head, ruffling his hair.
"Gross." Melanie sits back down, leaving Mike red and confused before he sits back down next to Melanie, who goes back to eating.
Mike's little sister, Holly, starts whimpering and moves under her chair as Mrs. Wheeler comforts her, "It's okay, Holly, it's just a loud noise."
Nancy turns to Dustin and gives a sarcastic "Nice." at him scaring her little sister. He shrugs.
THE GROUP WALKS down to the basement where Eleven had gone after dinner with leftovers in hand to give to her.
"El?" Mike calls out, seeing Eleven playing with his supercomm. He walks over and sets the plate of leftovers down by Eleven, "No adults. Just us and some meatloaf."
Lucas, Melanie, and Dustin all look down at the girl, the boys with a more scared look whilst Melanie is just curious.
"Don't worry," Mike tells Eleven, "they won't tell anyone about you. They promise." Mike turns around and looks up at the rest of the group. "Right?"
"We never would've upset you if we knew you had superpowers." Dustin replies, although that doesn't really answer Mike's question.
Melanie slaps him in the gut to get him to shut up. "Ow!" Dustin cries out.
"What Dustin is trying to say is that they were just scared..." Mike tells Eleven, "earlier. That's all."
"We just wanted to find our friend." Lucas adds.
"'Friend?'" Eleven asks confused.
"Yeah, friend. Will?"
"What is 'friend'?" The group all looks at each other at that question, confused as to how El doesn't know what a friend is. "Is she serious?" Lucas asks the group.
"A friend is someone that you'd do anything for. You lend them your cool stuff like comic books and trading cards. And they never break a promise." Mike answers.
"Especially when there's spit." Lucas adds on, Eleven looking at him confused.
"Spit?" She questions.
"A spit swear means..." Lucas starts, then spits in his hand and turns to Dustin, "you never break your word." Dustin and Lucas shake hands, the one Lucas spit in. "It's a bond." Dustin looks at his hand grossed out.
"That's super important," Mike begins, "because friends tell each other things. Things that parents don't know."
Eleven looks up at everybody, clearly thinking something but not showing it on her face. Melanie turns to Lucas and whispers, "A spit swear? Really?" To which he replies with, "I thought it was important!" Melanie rolls her eyes at this and looks back at Eleven.
Lucas indicates to follow him, huddling the group together and discuss what to do about Eleven, Lucas calling her crazy whilst the rest think she's pretty cool.
Mike notices that El walks over to the table with the D&D board and tilts his head, causing the rest of the group to turn and look at El. Curious, they break from their huddle and start walking towards her.
"What's the weirdo doing?' Lucas breaks the silence. El sits at the table and stares forward, intriguing everybody even more.
El closes her eyes before shooting them back open, picking up a wizard piece off the D&D board, inspecting it a bit. Melanie narrows her eyes, trying to figure out what she's doing.
"Will."
"Superpowers." Dustin comments after Eleven's statement, Melanie and Lucas look right at him that back at El.
Mike sits down next to Eleven, asking her rapid fire questions, "Did you see him? On Mirkwood? Do you know where he is?"
Eleven knocks all of the pieces to the floor then flips the board upside down, putting the wizard piece on top of the board.
"I don't understand." Mike states, although nobody there seems to understand.
"Hiding."
"Will is hiding?" El only nods, which causes Mike to continue, "From the bad men?"
El shakes her head, causing Mike and Melanie to look at each other before looking back at Eleven. "Then from who?" Mike questions.
Again, El says nothing, but moves a monster piece onto the board before looking up at Mike. Lucas rolls his eyes and Dustin puts his hands on his head, creeped out and confused. Melanie stairs in utter shock at the game piece.
"Shit."
word count: 2633
YAY CHAPTER TWO WOOP WOOP !!
m&m ha funny
didn't proofread lmao point out mistakes
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ok BYE !!!