"I made breakfast. Do you want some?" Lauren nudged her father awake on the couch. He shook his head in response, falling back into the unconscious dream land. "Dad, you got to get ready. Flo keeps radioing for you." He groaned, sitting up. Jim stood up and walked to the kitchen, grabbing one of the waffles from the toaster, and devoured it.
"Shit, dad, hungry?" Lauren asked, leaning against the couch.
"Yeah, somebody didn't make dinner like she offered to." He popped another waffle in the toaster for her after eating hers.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot I was studying and wasn't hungry. I didn't even think about it. Besides, even if I did, you didn't get home till late, so it would have been cold. So, really, you wouldn't have wanted it -"
"Lauren, I was kidding.Jim interrupted her before she went on and talked about nothing for ten minutes. He walked to the couch and grabbed his pants. He tried hopping to get his second foot into the pants before falling onto the couch. "I taking you to school?" Jim asked, completely ignoring his fall.
"No, Barb and Nance are coming to me." Lauren pushed her body off the couch when she heard the honk of a car. "Perfect timing." She picked the backpack off the recliner. She hugged her dad from the side, picking the waffle out of the toaster. Right before heading out, she grabbed her coat off the hanger. "I'll see you tonight, and I'll have something cooked. Love you."
"Love you, kid," Jim yelled through the closing door. Lauren ran to the car, arms full of junk. She hopped in the back and was immediately bombarded with a question from Barbra.
"Lo, do you think it is absolutely nuts that Nance is considering hanging out with Steve Harrington?"
"What?" Lauren's eyes widened. "King Steve? Steve the hair Harrington? Steve Harrington, the upperclassman Steve Harrington? That Steve?"
"Yeah, what's so wrong with it?" Nancy threw her hands up and looked back and forth between her friends.
"Oh, maybe just that fact that he's a complete asshole who hangs out with complete assholes and well, you're not a complete asshole," Lauren yelled up to her.
"That was worded perfectly, Lauren," Barbara said sarcastically.
"Thanks," she said as she began to organize all of the junk she had grabbed before heading out.
"Lauren, I was not being for real." Lauren nodded with realization.
"Oh well. What I mean is you are awesome, you're nice, you're not like them." Lauren leaned forward so she was practically in the front seat with the other two.
"Nancy, he is no good. He probably just wants to sleep with you. I love you, but that's how he is. Has he had a girlfriend last longer than a month?" Barb asked.
"Well, I don't know, but It's not like we are dating. We are just friends. It's only been a few weeks?" Nancy pleaded with the two.
"Weeks?" Lauren said, pushing her body up to the front of the car. "Why am I just hearing about this?"
"I called you this weekend but you didn't answer and that's when I was going to tell you."
"I was with Walt all weekend. You knew. What do you mean you called me?"
"Okay, maybe that was a lie, but I was going to tell you... or let you find out from someone else, but you know you would have found out."
"Oh my god, you would have made me find out from someone else."
"Barb told you. She's someone else."
"She doesn't count. Why didn't you tell me? I want to know when my friends are having a little fun," Nancy gasped while Barbara giggled.
"We aren't having that type of fun -"
"Not yet," Lauren said under her breath.
"And i didn't tell you..."
"Because?"
"Because you would have acted even more dramatically than you are right now."
"I am not being dramatic." She but her hand on her chest as if she was offended.
"Yeah, sure, and my name isn't Nancy Elizabeth Wheeler." Nancy said while she started putting on lipstick. "I don't know why you care anyway. You are not the one who's hanging out with him." Lauren rolled her eyes at Nancy's poor defense.
"Like I said, he's an asshole. Believe me, I know, and I don't want my best friend hanging out with an asshole. Especially when she's such an amazing, beautiful woman that deserves better than Steve fucking Harrington." Lauren's shoulders dropped further with everyone of her words.
"That's exactly what I told her." Barb said looking at her best friends. "You're to good for him."
"He's not that bad." Nancy shugged with a checky smile. "You two just have to not be so critical of him, you know? Not be such a pessimist."
"I have the right to be a pessimist because what always happens."
"The worst possible thing?" Barb finished her sentence.
"And what never happens?" She glanced up at Barb to answer her question again.
"The best possible thing."
"Precisely. So seeing as your two best friends object we think you shouldn't."
"Frankly, I don't care. I don't care what you think about it." Barbara and Lauren looked at each other, knowing that was further from the truth. "It's just -"
"I'm going to be completely honest with you. It seems like you want our permission," Barb said, turning into the school's parking lot. The three stepped out of the car, meeting the cold November air. Lauren threw the backpack over her shoulder, following behind her friends.
"We are just friends. I never said anything about dating him. I swear." Nancy brought it up again. Lauren rolled her eyes at her words.
"We are still talking about him." She rolled her eyes again. "I agree with Barbara." She pulled her backpack strap up on her shoulder while she walked beside her friends.
"What?" Nancy asked.
"It seems like you want permission." Lauren leaned her shoulder on the lockers beside Nancy's.
"I'm not asking permission. I don't need your approval, considering we aren't dating. I don't need permission." Nancy continued to argue with the two while putting in her locker combination.
"That's why you made out a couple of times." Barb said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh my god, you made out with him." Lauren looked between her friends
"You have made out with people who are just your friends." Nancy shot her a look. "So why should Steve count?"
"Because we are too different people Nancy a kiss means more to you than they do me."
"Why? Why does it have to mean more to me. Why can't I just kiss someone for fun."
"I never said you couldn't." Nancy seemed annoyed at Lauren, but she knew it would pass. "You clearly are now." She said under her breath.
"Hey Lauren, you think she's going to be too cool for us? Start hanging out with like Tommy H. and Carol?" Barbara said.
"I will not, believe me, it was a one-time," Nancy said, opening the locker to find a note dropped to the ground. She opened it when a smile came to her face. ''A two-time thing." Lauren grabbed it out of her hand.
"Oops, you dropped this." She said, making an excuse to have taken the paper. She turned it around to see it. It read, Meet Me in the Bathroom -Steve. "You were saying?" She waved the paper at Nancy till she grabbed it. She closed her locker and walked away. " You know denial ain't just a river in egypt Nancy."
"It's actually the Nile. Not denial."
"Whatever." Lauren turned to Barb. "Yep, she's going to be way too cool for us."
"You know it. I'll talk to you later. I have to get to class." She said, heading to her class. Lauren walked to her locker, putting he backpack away. She grabbed more of her stuff and headed to class.
She saw Walt sitting in his seat she put down her stuff at the desk in front of him. He grabbed her waist, pulling her down. The classroom was seemingly empty, but it was still embarrassing. She pushed off of him and sat down in her chair. She turned to talk to him. "You reek of marijuana, Walt."
"That's because I'm stoned right now." He put his head in his hand, being closer to her face. "Can I get a kiss?" Lauren gave him a dirty look.
"I thought you couldn't smoke until the seasons over?"
"We have two more games they're not making anyone pee in a cup. So I figured -"
"You figured you get high on a Monday morning?"
"Would you like some?" He raised his eyebrows at her. "You seem a little extra..."
"Bitchy."
"Well yeah, I was going to say judgy." He flicked one of her braids behind her shoulder. "What's up?"
"Oh, just one of my best friends is falling in love with Steve Harrington."
"B?" He said quickly with large eyes.
"No Walt not Barbara. Nancy."
"Oh," his worry dropped a little. "Since when does she like him? I thought she liked, what's his name? Harrison."
"Harrison? Who the fuck is Harrison?"
"I don't know I'm high." He shrugged. Lauren turned back around as the bell rang. "No kiss?"
"No Walt. No kiss."
"Class today should be pretty easy." The teacher's said as he closed the door. "Please get you notebooks out we will be taking notes." Lauren grabbed her notebook to take notes she'd never look at again.
Lauren was sitting in her seat jotting down notes from the rambling of the teacher when a tall boy walked into the classroom noticeably late. "Steve, are you aware that this class began over five minutes ago." The teacher stood in the same position erasing the board looking at the boy.
"Yes," Steve closed the door behind him walking to his desk.
"So why are you late, you are wasting the time of the people in this class," the teacher looked at him with a blank yet annoyed face.
"Well, sir. I honestly don't think I would have been that much of a destination if you didn't acknowledge me to this extent sir. So at this point in time, I think it is you that has wasted your time here, sir respectfully." Steve said, making the entire class laugh. Lauren knew that if he were late then Nancy was too.
"Mr. Harrington, will you please stop? Anyways we were talking about the molecules of..." The teacher's words began to fade in Laurens's head as she drifted further into her thoughts for a good while.
She thought about Nancy's new possible relationship. She wouldn't care so much if it was literally anyone else. Anyone. Yes she did hate a lot of people especially the boys at the school but Steve and Tommy were the worst of all. While in her thoughts she decided she couldn't care less about what the teacher was saying, seeing as she already knew everything she needed to about it. With that and her mier four and a half hours of sleep, she fell asleep altogether.
This occurred often. She had already known half the stuff she was learning in class, so she just tuned it out. The sleep, though, was restless. She wasn't getting any real sleep sitting on a metal chair.
She woke up to the feeling of a tap on her shoulder. "Lo, do you have a pencil?" She turned to see Walt sitting in his seat with sunglasses over his eyes. Some things he didn't have before class started. Turning back to look at her notebook, grabbing the extra pen in the spiral.
"I got a pen." She handed it to the boy before turning around and getting tapped on the shoulder again. She turned her whole body around this time.
"Do you want to come over tonight, my moms not going to be home?"
"Walt, as much as I want to, I have to babysit." She said that was one of the things she thought about before she fell asleep.
"Can I come over?" He nudged her. "I want my best friend with me, you know?" He said, picking up and fidgeting with Lauren's loose pigtail braids.
"No, have you not seen Halloween or any other horror movie?"
"So we'll be screwing on Mr. And Mrs. Sinclair's couch like they do in Halloween?" He said, raising an eyebrow at her, which was hard to tell from his glasses being in the way. Lauren pushed his shoulder while shaking her head.'' ough that hurt." He joked.
"No, it didn't."
"Yes, it did, I think I'm going to press charges."
"Then I'm going to press charges for the harassment."
"That was not harassment. That was me asking a genuine question." He said with his hand on his heart.
"Ms. Hopper, Mr. Jordan, am I teaching during your conversation?"
"No, sir."
"Then why don't you share with the class? I'm sure they would love to hear about your after-school activities." Lauren sat with her head in her hands embarrassed by the conversation.
"No, thank you, sir, we'll be..." The bell interrupted the girl's words. She had been asleep a hell of a lot longer than she thought. The teacher spoke about homework before letting his class leave.
"Jordan, Hopper, Harrington, come here, please." The three teens looked at each other and then walked up to the teacher's desk. "We are nearly three months into school, and I can not keep having these distractions in my class. Therefore, you will be receiving after-school detention this Friday." The three nod and walk out of the room. Steve muttered, "Bullshit." Under his breath while walking away.
☆
Lauren sat down at the lunch table with Walt and Barb. "Where's Nancy?"
"Sitting with Steve." Lauren looked over to where Steve regularly sat, and Nancy was sitting with them.
"You've got be kidding me." Lauren turned back to them. "Why?"
"I don't know." Barb shook her. Lauren rolled her eyes at the whole situation.
"I made Shawn sit with us when we were dating."
"They're not dating, remember?"
"Yeah, right, he's going to have her blowing him by the end of the week."
"Lauren."
"I'm just telling the truth. He's already had his tongue down her throat. Why not his dick?"
Lauren's day of school felt like a century. She was in a rush to get home so that she could make dinner and eat before she had to be at Sinclair's to babysit. Shoving an English textbook into her backpack, she made her way to the door to a thirty-minute walk home. At the start of her walk, she walked with a group of middle schoolers, one being a kid that she babysat Lucas and his friends. Today was different because a boy was missing.
"Where's Will?"
"We don't know. Your dad came by and asked us if he knew where he was. They can't find him." Dustin said.
"Like, what do you mean is he missing?"
"If they can't find him, that means he's missing, dumbass." Lucas snickered. Lauren rolled her eyes at the boy's comment, turning to the other boys.
"Well, I'm sure he'll turn up. He probably just got skipping. I skipped when I was your guys' age. The cops will find them soon enough." Mike added. The rest of the walk was eerily quiet as the boys slowly dispersed to their homes. Lucas was the last house of the boys that she walked by before arriving at her own ten minutes down the road.
"Bye Lucas, see you soon."
"Bye," Laurens's pace picked up as soon as the boy got in his door. The cool November air was nothing compared to what it could be.
☆
Lauren shut the door of the microwave, peeling back the plastic of the tv dinner. She grabbed a pen and paper to make a note for her father as a reminder that she had to babysit. Leaving the note by the dinner she had heated up for her dad, she grabbed her jacket and walked out the door. The darkness fell on her face as she stepped outside. The walk to the Sinclairs seemed a little more dangerous with the unknown whereabouts of the Byers boy. Reaching the door, she knocked to immediately be greeted by Mrs. Sinclair.
"Hey Lauren, so happy to see you. We will leave in about two minutes so you know make yourself at home. Lucas and Erica are upstairs. We'll be out till about two. Again, thank you. I know it was short notice." Mrs. Sinclair stood there till she walked in, closing the door behind her.
"Oh no, it is totally fine." Lauren kicked off her shoes and made her way upstairs. Turning the corner from the stairs, she saw Erica on the couch watching "Nationals Lampoons Vacation."
"Oh my god, I didn't know this was on VHS yet." Erica smiled at her and nodded."Do you remember when we all went to Indianapolis because Lucas had to see it?" Erica laughed at her.
"Yeah, I can rewind it if you want to restart it." Erica pointed at the tv.
"How far along are you?" Lauren picked up a pillow and sat down next to the girl.
"Halfway." Lauren shrugged.
"No, I couldn't make you watch it again." Erica leaned her head on the girl's arm. Lauren sat and watched about half an hour of the movie before sensing she should check on the older Sinclair kid. "Erica, I'm going to go check on your brother. The girl leaned up so Lauren could stand up.
"Do you want to make me popcorn?" Erica said with a huge smile and puppy dog eyes.
"Well, I mean, who can say no to that face." She joked. "Let me go check on Lucas first." Lauren walked towards Lucas' room. She knocked on the door before opening it.
"Lauren, come here. I have to go, but you can't tell my mom." The boy aggressively waved her over. She sat down across from him on the bed.
"Ummm. No, you don't." Lauren looked at him like he was an idiot. "You are not leaving this house without me, and I don't want to get that eight-year-old out there ready. No." She shook her head.
"But I have to go look for Will." Lucas threw his hands up in defense.
"No, you don't. That's what my dad is doing. I can't have you missing, too. You wait here, okay? I'll call my dad to see how things are going with the search. Stay here. If you leave your ass is grass understood?" She raised her eyebrows at him.
"Understood," Lucas said, lying through his teeth. Lauren narrowed her eyes at the boy looking over him before she got up.
"Good." Lauren looked at the boy one last time before she left the room. She walked past Erica but was interrupted by a single word coming from the little girl,
"Popcorn?" Erica said the look on her face that would get her want ever she wanted. Lauren stopped in her tracts when she heard this. Looking at the girl with the same puppy dog eyes, she had minutes prior.
"Yeah, I will in one minute." Continuing on her mission to the phone. She grabbed and dialed the number to the station, just waiting for no one to answer. All those mother fuckers do nothing but drink there coffee and "do paper work" Lauren thought to herself. She was already upset that she couldn't let Lucas look for Will and just the fact that the lazy asses at the station don't answer when there is always someone there. She slapped the phone back on the hook. Matching back to Lucas' room to find the window open and a missing boy. She stared at the open window with her hands on her hips.
"That little shit." Lauren muttered to herself. She rolled her eyes before she turned in her heals back to the main room upstairs. "Hey Erica, I'm going to tell you something but it has to be our little secret okay." The girl sat up with peaked interest.
"Like a secret just us girls?" She questioned. Lauren nodded making her smile. She scooted closer to the standing teenager in front of her.
"Your dumbass brother and his dumbass friend went looking for Will. I don't want anything to happen to you and I don't want you to see what I'm going to do to him. So I want you to stay here." Erica looked a little worried.
"Okay but I've never stayed home alone at night." Lauren's hand held onto the little girl's shoulder.
"I know it's scary but..." she looked around and grabbed fabric scissors and handed them to Erica."If anyone comes in the house I want you to hide in the closet and if they find you use these to hurt them. Just beat their ass. I know you're a badass who doesn't take anybody's shit so. Can you promise me you'll be a fighter?"
"Promise," She stretched out her pinky. Lauren stretched hers out till they locked it and kissed their hands.
"I'll be back as soon as I get that little shit. Lock the door behind me and only open it if you hear our knock," Erica nodded at her. Lauren flashed a smile at Erica. Making her way down the stairs grabbing a sad excuse of an umbrella and one of the boy's walkie-talkies.
☆
Lauren fell to the ground scraping her knee on a tree root. She let out an exasperated groan pushing herself off the ground. She whipped the water from her face. She looked around the ground for the walkie-talkie that flew out of her hand. She picked it up and hit the talk button. "Lucas? Mike? Dustin? If you don't have answers I'll kill your turtle. I'm not kidding." She let her finger off the button on the walkie-talkie.
"Hey leave Yurtle out of this," Dustin came over the radio. She hit the walkie seeing as it was grainy from the water. She was relieved that they finally answered. She was drenched from head to toe and now her knee was bleeding.
"Where the fuck are you guys?"
"Just meet us at Mikes." Lauren started practically running. She was thinking that they were someplace safe.
"Come to the front door." The walkie cut out. "Do. Not. Knock." Mike said ad it kicked back on. Lauren made it to the door hitting the talk button as a sort of signal that wasn't a knock. Mike opens the door grabbing her by the hand causing her to drop the crappy umbrella and watch it blow away. Lauren sighed looking back over at the boy.
"Mike, that wasn't my umbrella." She whispered.
"I don't care. We found something." He whispered back, dragging her down into the basement. Lauren's eyes met a little girl with buzzed hair.
"Mike you said something, not someone. Where did they come from?" She stood there staring at the boys. The boys looked at her with blank stares. They were hoping she would know what to do.
"We were looking for Will when we found her." Lucas shrugged with wide eyes. Lauren rubbed the back of her neck looking at the girl.
"Are we sure Will didn't just run away and shave his god forsake bowl cut off? I mean love the kid but we all know it's bad."
"Lauren, be serious," Lucas commented.
"Sorry." Lauren walked over to the girl and squatted in front of her and turned her head. "Has she said anything?" She just got shaken heads in response. Lauren reached her hand out and let it hang there till the child grabbed it. When the child grabbed it Lauren set her other hand on top of hers. "My name is Lauren. What about you?" She didn't receive a response. Lauren thought she must be freezing considering she was drenched in water just as they all were. "Hey boys, why don't you sit with her? I'll be right back."
Lauren loosened her grip and walked up the stairs and made her way to the second floor to Nancy's room. Lauren turned the handle while saying, "Hey Nance can I..." Lauren's eyes met Steve on top of Nancy making out. "Oh sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt anything." She said, covering her eyes, turning around, "I'll show myself out." She makes her way to Mike's room to look for clothes she could wear since Nancy was preoccupied.
Grabbing a shirt and basketball shorts she made her way back downstairs. "Mike, I got her some of your clothes. I would have got some from Nancy she was busy.'' She walked over to the girl handing her folded clothes. "Here honey, why don't you go get some dry clothes on?"
"Help?" Lauren looked from the boys to the girl.
''Help getting dressed?'' She rasied her eyebrows at her. The child nodded her head. Lauren softly picked up her hand and led her to the bathroom. Before closing the door she turned to the boys and said, "Make up a spot for her to get some rest. Now please." The dumbstruck boys nooded at her.
Lauren closed the door behind her she grabbed the large button-up shirt that was wrapped around the little girl. Lauren finished closing all the buttons she glanced at and saw a tattoo on the child's wrist. Reaching for it the little girl ripped her hand away.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry I wasn't trying to scare you. Zero-one-one? Eleven? What does that mean?" The girl winced at the question but eventually pointed to herself.
"Me."
"You?" Lauren looked confused. "You're Eleven years old? Or your name is Eleven?" Lauren asked even more confused not knowing if it was actually her name.
"My name." Again the girl nodded. Lauren began to think she either does not speak English she just can't speak very well.
"Okay, Eleven let's get you some rest." Lauren set her hands on her shoulder looking into her brown eyes. The girl looked like she was studying her.
"Are you ready to go out there?" Eleven nodded stood up and opened the door. The boys turned to look at the bathroom. Mike was staring at her in an endearing way making her smile.
"We made her a bed." Mike said to them as he lazily threw his hand up to the direction of the bed. Eleven walked over to the bed while Lauren walked to the boys.
"So I think her name is Eleven. I'm not sure, but she said it's her name so."
"What? How do you know?" Mike asked.
"Sleep?" Eleven said. All of them looked over at her.
"Yeah, we made it for you to sleep." Mike said. Lauren walked over to the boys and gathered them in a huddle. "So first thing in the morning I'll tell my dad to call CPS to come get her. So make sure she is fed and feels safe till they come so she doesn't run off and hurt herself." Mike looked at her almost mad.
"What no, we have a plan." Dustin and Mike say. Lauren didn't think it would be worth a shit.
"What's your plan?" Lauren threw her hands on her hips knowing it was going to be stupid.
"We keep her down here." Lauren's head fell forward with a slow shake. "What Lo? It's a solid plan."
"No. It's not a solid plan. She's not a stray dog. She's a human child. Her parents are probably worried sick."
"Papa," the girl said making the everyone look to her.
"Papa? Your dad? Do you want your dad?" Dustin asked her as she stood there with big blank eyes. She shook her head not changing her expression.
"Papa bad," again Lauren's head fell forward. So many possibilities ran through her mind as to what that could mean. It could just be a little girl running away because her dad said no to getting her a barbie. Or he could be hurting her.
"Shit," Lauren said under her breath as all the kids looked at her to make the decision. Nothing in Lauren wanted the girl to have to go back to something that could be that horrible, but she also didn't want to risk the chance that a worried dad was looking for his daughter. The kids stared up at her with puppy dog eyes. "Fine one night. What's that plan of yours," the kids let out a quiet cheer at her decision.
"Okay so we use her to find Will..." Mike went on Lauren's eyes drifted to the clock. She read the time before she went back to listening to the ramblings. Her eyes shot back to the clock as the time set in on her mind. A wave of worry washed over her.
"Shit shit shit. Your mom will be home in half an hour. We have to get home so you can get in your pajamas. You're covered in mud and rain. Dustin you are coming with you are not risking you going home by yourself. Mike, call me in the morning." Lauren walked over to the girl with her arms extended wrapping her in a hug.
"I'll see you soon. You will be okay, I'm going to leave you here with Mike." She pressed a small reassuring kiss on the little girl's head. Running to the boys grabbing them by the ears, "Okay guys let's go." dragging them out the door.
They walked home at a brisk pace to Lucas first to make sure he got in the shower. Lauren knocked on the door forgetting at the moment to do the knock she and Erica made years prior. The door swung open to see a girl with her hand wrapped around a pair of scissors raised in the air.
"Get the hell away from my house you mother fuc... Oh thank god, it's you." Erica dropped the scissors and practically tackled Lauren with a hug.
"Lucas go shower fast, please." She softly pushed the boy into the house. She squat down to the girl's eye level. "Erica I will be right back. Ten more minutes without me okay." She nodded and grabbed Dustin's shoulder redirecting him back to the street. She knew Erica would be okay. Erica was very strong-willed. Though it wasn't till about four months ago that she really grew into it.
The rain poured down on their backs as they walk-ran to Dustin's house. At this point, Lauren was growing tired of the rain drenching her and was ready to be back in the comfort of her bed. She thought about what she was going to say to Mrs. Sinclair as to why she was soaking wet, but couldn't she was much better at thinking of lies on her feet. Walking up to Dustin's house they went around back so they could sneak past Claudia Henderson.
"Can I get a goodbye kiss?" Dustin jokingly batted his eyes.
"Uh no." She pulled him to the door only for him to resist.
"How about a hug?"
"Considering your intentions no." She knew he didn't actually bad intentions.
"What you gave Erica and the freak one. You even kissed the freak." He protected.
"Yeah on the head she is scared and she has a name."
"I'm scared." He pretends to quiver.
"No."
"I was just shooting my shot." The brunette smiled at him before pulling him into a hug. "Was this so hard." He hugged her back.
"Be careful please." She pulled away from the embrace. "Seriously no more sneaking out in the middle of the night. You're going to give me gray hairs and I'm not even your mom." His lips curled into a smile.
"No promises, but I'll try. Good night Lo."
"Night Henderson." She said making sure the boy got into his house before she left to get back to the Sinclairs.