๑ 2 ๑
Mike awoke with a sudden jolt, instantly feeling a rather excruciating pain shoot all throughout the back of his head. God, it felt like someone had plunged a knife right through to his skull.
Instinctively, he went to move his hand, intending on assessing whatever damage had been done to him, only his hand didn't move. That took his mind right off the prevailing pain, allowing him to realize where exactly he was.
He was in the room he had first seen when he fell through that window. Only now, he was sitting in a chair, more like tied to a chair, his arms and legs bound tightly in rope. There was also tape over his mouth, preventing him from calling out a single word.
Contrary to what he had believed when he first saw this place, someone else definitely lived here.
Now that he thought about it though, it seemed pretty lived in to him when he was getting a good look around the place before.
You know, before someone knocked him out.
He should've ran as soon as he noticed the glass half full with water sitting out on the coffee table or the dirty dishes that were stacked up in the kitchen sink, but no. He stayed, allowing the person whose home he broke into the perfect chance to retaliate.
It seemed that this person knew exactly what they were doing too, their rope tying skills being far too good for any average person. He was bound to that chair so tight it felt like it was part of his own body. He figured if they could do that, surely they could do much worse, which only made him want to get the hell out of there.
He made an attempt to move his limbs, hoping to loosen the ropes' hold on him, but they didn't budge even the slightest bit.
He tried again, this time with as much strength as his slender body could muster up, but it seemed nothing was going to work.
"Struggling will do you no good."
Mike froze as the voice suddenly called out from behind. It caught him by surprise, mostly because the voice belonged to a girl.
He definitely wasn't expecting the person responsible for his current predicament to be a girl. A man for sure, much bigger than him, one who could probably leave him with the pain he was feeling now, after just one measly punch.
A girl though? No way.
He couldn't see her yet, as she was still behind him, but he could hear her coming closer, her feet lightly pattering against the floor with each step she took.
Mike sat still, having no choice but to stare straight ahead until she came around and he was finally met with the sight of her.
The girl was short, incredibly short compared to him. She had fairly long brown hair, it looking as if it had just been brushed through, not a single hair out of place. Her golden eyes were open wide, as she stared him down from where she stood a good distance away.
Mike found her to be quite pretty, surprisingly much prettier than most of the girls in Hawkins. Just as soon as the pleasing thought crossed his mind though, it was gone. He no longer cared how pretty she was, considering she was the one who had tied him up, right after she hit him in the back of the head.
She could've seriously hurt him, maybe even killed him and he really hadn't even done anything wrong.
The girl finally made a move, cautiously walking over to him and ripping the tape right off his mouth, without so much as a warning.
"Ah, fuck!" He hissed, it feeling as if she had torn his skin right off.
"I know why you're here." She finally spoke again, the certainty in her words unwavering. "You're here to take me away aren't you?"
Mike's brows instantly furrowed at the girl's assumption. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm not scared of you!"
"Okay?"
"Who are you?" She questioned, the fury growing in her eyes. "And how did you find me?"
"I wasn't even looking for you!" He shouted, not having a clue as to what this girl was going on about.
He figured maybe she was crazy, that's why she's living all by herself in this rundown cabin in the middle of the woods, spewing out all this paranoid nonsense.
"Who are you then, huh? Why did you break into my home? Who else knows I live here? Are there more coming after me?"
"No! Jesus, just chill out!" Mike yelled, his frustration getting the best of him. This girl asks entirely too many questions and he'd had just about enough of it. "I was being chased by the police and I ended up here. It looked empty, so I figured it would be a good place to hide until it was safe for me to go home. I didn't know fucking Rapunzel would be locked away in here!"
She looked him over, eyeing him skeptically, clearly debating on whether she should believe him or not.
"Why were you running from the police?"
Mike sighed, as yet another question had been thrown at him. "I stole something, sorta."
"What's your name then, thief?"
"The name's Mike Wheeler." He told her, flashing her a cocky grin. "What's yours, princess?"
"As if I'd tell you." She scoffed, her sudden sass particularly amusing to him.
"Wow, my heart is broken, truly." He deadpanned, his lip sticking out in a fake pout. "Now let me go. I have places to be, places that don't include this filthy cabin with you."
The scowl on her face deepened as he spoke, until suddenly the brightest smile spread across her face.
Yeah, she's definitely crazy.
"Okay listen here, Mike Wheeler." She started, leaning forward and taking each side of his face into her hands. She had a bit of a rough grip on him, keeping his eyes locked on hers. "I'll make you a deal. I'll let you go, but on one condition."
"And what might that one condition be?"
"You have to take me into town today, to all the places I wish to go to."
"What do I look like, a cab driver? No way." He adamantly denied, her hands falling right away from his cheeks as he shook his head.
"Something brought you to me, Mike. May it be fate or destiny or-"
"My own two feet?" He interrupted, his sarcasm not too appreciated by the girl.
"I'm choosing to trust you here! Last chance, will you take me?"
"Absolutely not."
"Then I guess you leave me no choice..." The girl shrugged innocently, beginning to slowly pace the floor. "If you don't accept my offer, I'll have to turn you in to the police."
Mike's eyes widened, her threat genuinely surprising him. He really didn't think the girl had it in her.
"And I'll also keep this for myself." She added, now holding up the necklace Mike swore was safely tucked away in his pocket.
"Woah, hey! How'd you get that??" He yelled, his panic bringing a satisfied grin to her face.
"Do we have a deal?"
Mike took a moment to think it over. It was such a simple thing for her to ask of him really, but as simple as it was, he still didn't want to do it. He didn't want to do anything for the girl, but he didn't have much of a choice here.
"You seriously just want me to drive you around town? That's it?"
"Yes, that's all I want. Then, you can go on your way. I promise." She assured him, her eyes boring into his. "And I don't break my promises, ever."
Mike held her gaze for a bit, wanting so badly to turn her down, but he knew that he couldn't. He finally sighed in defeat, nodding his head slowly. "Yes, we have a deal."
"Really??" She gasped, as if she couldn't believe he had agreed to such a thing. As soon as she realized she had let her guard down, it was quickly put it back up. "I mean, good. Glad we got that figured out. Now, I'm going to freshen up, then I'll untie you."
"Oh, fantastic."
"I'm also keeping this until your end of the deal is fulfilled, but don't worry. I won't harm your necklace."
"It's not mine." Mike muttered, exhaustedly throwing his head back against the chair.
"Well, whoever it belongs to, it will be safe." She assured him with a megawatt smile. Mike could feel the insane amount of happiness radiating from her, making him even more miserable.
As for Eleanor, she was very happy, indeed... ecstatic even.
She was one step closer to having her dream come true. She was already excited over the fact that she was she going out into the world, but now she had someone to guide her along the way and that made it even better.
It was perfect.
Eager to get going, she rushed off to her room, leaving the boy she now knew as Mike behind.
She put the necklace belonging to him in a safe place, then began to get ready. She looked over her appearance in the mirror, wanting to look her absolute best.
People were going to see her, finally someone other than her Papa was going to see her!
She decided to keep the same purple sundress on, loving the way it looked on her. Her hair was still in perfect condition, so there was no need to do anything with that either. She did however, apply the smallest bit of makeup to her face, overcome with excitement now that she finally has a reason to wear the stuff.
After finishing up, she took one last look at herself, making sure that everything was to her liking before returning to the living room.
"Are you gonna untie me now or what?"
"I said I would, didn't I?" She sassed back at him, while coming over to do just that.
As she worked to set him free, with the tiniest bit of help from her powers, she couldn't help but notice the boy's eyes on her. He was staring in a rather weird way, a way that made her feel slightly uncomfortable, but she chose not to acknowledge it. Maybe he was just curious, like she had been with him.
"How the hell did you get these tied so tight?"
Eleanor watched as he rubbed at the sore spots where the ropes had previously been. She simply shrugged off his question, then went off to retrieve her shoes from the end of the couch.
"So why is going into town such a big deal to you anyway? Do you not get out much?" He asked, as she slipped her sandals on with ease.
"Mike, I've been in this stupid cabin pretty much my entire life and all I ever dream of is being able to leave this place, to go out and do things! I want to have fun."
"Well, alright. Let's blow this joint." Mike said, heading straight for the front door.
"Blow this joint?" She cluelessly repeated the phrase, as she followed him over.
"What? You've never heard that term?"
"No?"
"Well it means, let's go already." He told her, gesturing a bit dramatically toward the door. "So, let's go already."
Eleanor nodded and began to unlock each of the locks, by hand of course. She received an odd look from Mike, though he thankfully didn't ask why there were so many.
He took off walking ahead of her, stomping out the door and down the steps of the front porch. She intended on following right behind him, but didn't end up making it very far.
Eleanor took one look around the woods, the woods she'd been surrounded by her whole life and it was like her whole body froze.
Should I really do this?
I don't even know this guy.
He's really not the nicest person, should I even trust him?
Gosh, he's an actual thief! What am I doing?
What if Papa was right? What if this boy finds out what I can do and tries to take me away? What if he tries to kill me?
"Hey! You coming or what?"
Eleanor snapped out of her worrisome thoughts, nervously chewing on her lip as he awaited her answer.
"Uh, maybe I should stay here."
"Seriously? After all that you just put me through back there, you're just gonna stay here?"
"I... Well, I don't know."
Eleanor stared down at her feet in silence. She really didn't know what to do anymore. She wanted to leave so bad, but she really had no clue what was out there, nor did she know a thing about this Mike boy.
"God, I'm probably going to regret this..." She heard Mike mutter to himself, before she looked up to find him coming back over to join her on the porch.
"Listen, whatever your name is, you told me this was your dream, to leave your house and have fun. Personally, I think that's a lame ass dream, but it's your dream. And now, whether it be fate or whatever the fuck you said, I'm here and I can help make that dream come true. Even if you're basically blackmailing me to do so, I'm still here to help. Are you really going to pass on this chance you've been given because you're scared?"
Eleanor was a little speechless as she took in what he said, not expecting for him to say something like that.
She definitely didn't expect for Mike to also hold out his hand for her to take. She looked down at it, uncertain as to whether she should give in to his request or not.
"Oh come on, I don't bite. Unless of course, you want me to?" He teased, unable to contain the grin on his face. He was quick to notice her obvious confusion though, his grin disappearing in an instant.
"Sorry, habit. Forget I said that." He sighed, before offering her his hand again. "You ready now?"
Eleanor exhaled a deep breath, letting her worries go right along with it. She then reached her hand out, happily grabbing on to Mike's.
"Yes! Let's go!"
_
AN;
Hi, thanks for all the love on this so far! I really hope you guys are enjoying it!
Just fyi, the next four/five chapters are all still the same day, I just thought it would be better to split it all up since so much happens throughout the day of Mike taking her places. I really wish I could have all the chapters done at the same time, but my brain hates me too much to let that happen. So just keep in mind that it's still gonna be the same day!
❤️