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Eleanor couldn't believe that she had actually done it. She left the cabin. She went against just about every single rule Papa had ever enforced and it all truly felt like a dream.
Really though, it was a dream. It was her dream and here it was, being brought to life.
As she walked through the woods, still holding on to Mike's hand, she took in everything around her, wanting to engrave it all into her mind. It was all so new to her, every sound, every smell, every single thing that came into sight.
She could hear the birds chirping, the rustling of the leaves beneath their feet, the faint pattering of the squirrels scurrying along the tree branches. She could breathe in fresh air, a definite relief compared to the musty smell of the cabin she's used to. She could see, well, everything. She could see the bright blue sky above, the clouds scattered all around, the trees surrounding them standing tall.
Only now, it wasn't through dirty windows in the cabin, it was clear as day and it was better than she'd even imagined it to be.
She could feel the cool breeze, her hair blowing back from it's powerful force. Much like that gusty wind, she felt free. For the first time in all her seventeen, almost eighteen, years of life she felt completely free.
It was a feeling like no other and she wished she could feel this way her entire life. She was almost certain that would never happen, but even if this was just a one time thing, this feeling would change things. It would change her life, she knew it would.
"You know, if you hold on to my hand any tighter, I think you might just squeeze the whole thing right off." Mike teased, breaking the silence that had come over them since they'd left the cabin.
Eleanor quickly released his hand, hoping that she hadn't hurt him. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was holding it so tight."
As soon as she let go though, she found herself missing the feeling of his hand in hers. She'd never held anyone's hand like that before, never experienced the comfort that came along with the feeling of someone else's touch and she had to admit, it was nice.
Wanting to get her mind off such a thing, she let her eyes roam around, getting another good look at everything surrounding her.
"Gosh, I can't believe I did this! I really did it!"
"Mhm. You did it." Mike mumbled, not sparing her so much as a glance.
"But Papa would be so furious if he found out!" She began to worry, as a bit of reality started to sink back in. "I would be in so much trouble!"
"Well, what your Papa doesn't know won't hurt him, right?"
"Yeah... Yeah, you're right! He'll never know, it'll all be fine!" She agreed, though she was mostly telling that to herself. "Unless he does find out..."
"I gotta say, you really seem at war with yourself here." Mike sighed, while coming to a sudden stop and turning to face her. "You're so thrilled to be out, then two seconds later you're terrified. Look I get it, sorta. It sounds like you have an over protective father, who probably just wants to keep you safe, but doing things like this on your own is part of growing up. Besides, he can't protect you from everything your entire life. It's just not healthy."
Mike's words made more and more sense as the seconds passed. And just like when they were back at the cabin, he had managed to get rid of the worries inside of her. "You're right, this is good, really good!"
"Yeah? Alright, great. Now that you're back on the rebellious road trip train, let's keep going." Mike said, as he took off walking again, Eleanor following right behind him.
There were no more doubts in her mind and there certainly wouldn't be again, not today.
Papa was on his way to Chicago. He won't find out what she's doing, there's absolutely no way. She's going to have an amazing day doing what she's always wanted to do, then when it's over, she'll go back home and she'll act as if it never happened.
"So since we're going to be spending the day together, I need to know more about you, Princess. I mean, you know things about me, things I really wish you didn't, so it's only fair."
"Okay, sure." She nodded, her mind beginning to think of something to tell him, something that wouldn't be too personal. The last thing she needed was for this boy to know something he shouldn't. Then again, he did know where she lives. How much more personal could it get?
"Well, I live with my Papa in the cabin that you broke into."
"Where's your mom?"
"I never got to meet her. Papa says she died when I was born."
"Damn... It's just me and my dad now too, unfortunately."
Eleanor grew a bit concerned at the mention of his own situation, wondering why exactly he didn't have a mother, but she didn't know if it was appropriate to ask.
She decided to keep quiet, silently walking along with him, until she realized that she was sweating a little bit. Of course, she'd had that happen before when it would get a little too hot in the cabin, but not this much and it was seriously grossing her out.
"Is it always this hot outside?" Eleanor huffed, gathering her hair up in her hand to let the breeze hit her neck.
Mike glanced back at her, softly shaking his head. "Maybe you wouldn't be so hot if your hair wasn't so long. Seriously, why don't you cut it or something?"
"No!" She nearly yelled, the thought of doing such a thing making her want to cry.
"Why not?"
"Papa finally decided to let me grow it and I don't want to lose any of it."
Mike looked over at her, a bit of confusion on his face. "What do you mean, he 'let' you? It's your hair."
"He used to buzz my hair off." She shrugged, as if it were no big deal, though it would always be a big deal to her. If she lost all her hair now, well she might just have a full on breakdown.
"Did you want him to do that?"
Eleanor didn't respond at first, but figured there was no harm in telling him. So, she shook her head no, smiling sadly up at Mike.
"Well, that's messed up... Shit, okay, tell me something else about you then, something less depressing."
"Okay. Oh! My birthday's in a week!"
"Alright, see that's something good. How old will you be?"
"Eighteen!" She told him, any sadness from before now gone as she happily jumped up and down. "I'm so excited!"
"I can see that." Mike snorted, once again shaking his head at her. "Do you go to school?"
"No, I was never allowed to."
She'd always wanted to go to school, but like most things she wanted, she couldn't have. She used to have lessons with Papa over the basic things she needed to know in life, but once she'd turned thirteen, he told her the lessons were no longer necessary.
"Do you go to school, Mike?"
"Yepp, well sometimes. It's Saturday, so obviously not today, but when I do have it, I usually skip."
"You skip school?" Eleanor gasped, recalling how skipping school was always looked down upon in the movies she'd seen. Then again, Mike was a thief. He steals things from places and breaks into people's homes, why would he follow the rules in school?
"Yeah, and you're lucky you're not allowed to go because it's lame." Mike shrugged carelessly.
"Well okay... What else would you like to know about me?"
"Eh, that's enough for now. We're almost there anyways, so we can talk more later."
"Oh, where are we going?" She asked eagerly, feeling her excitement grow now that her adventure was finally beginning.
"We're stopping by my house, so I can change and get my car, then we'll go into town. Sound good to you, Princess?"
"I suppose, but why do you keep calling me that?" She frowned, not particularly enjoying being called by something that was not her name. She also didn't understand why he was calling her that specifically, seeing as she wasn't a princess.
"Well, you still haven't told me your name, what else am I supposed to call you?"
She went silent again as they walked on, not knowing what to say to him. Papa had always said that no one was to know her real name. The people at the lab didn't even know it, always referring to her as Eleven. If they weren't allowed to know, then this random guy who'd broken into her home probably shouldn't know it either.
She really didn't want him to keep calling her Princess though, so she had no choice but to tell him.
"My name's Eleanor."
"Okay, that is not what I expected." Mike snickered, his reaction only confusing her for what felt like the tenth time since she'd met the boy. "No offense, but that sounds like an old lady's name."
"That's not very nice of you to say, Mike."
"I think I'm just gonna call you El." He decided, completely ignoring what she'd said.
"What? Why?"
"It sounds better, that's why. It can be short for Eleanor, like my name is short for Michael."
She was going to argue, but couldn't think of a single reason why she should. She actually really liked the idea of 'El' being her name, a whole lot more than the name she's always gone by. It was so simple, yet felt so perfect for her.
"Do you like that name? Because if you don't, I can stick with the old lady name, I just won't enjoy it."
"No, I think I like El." She smiled, giving him a reassuring nod.
"Alright then, El. We've reached my house, so follow me."
El perked up as they approached the house, this being the first place she's ever been to.
She noticed right away just how big it was, much bigger than the cabin she lived in. The outside of it was so pretty, with all its windows and the cute little plants lining the front of the it. There was an actual yard too, with the greenest grass she'd ever seen.
She was even more amazed when they went inside, her jaw quite literally dropping at everything she saw. Each room she could see from where she stood by the door looked so different, with its own unique walls and floors. There were decorations all around too, some hanging on the walls, some set up on small tables.
Mike had wandered off into what she assumed was the kitchen, so she chose to get a better look around the place, immediately going over to some pictures she had spotted on a table.
Some of the frames held pictures of a little girl, with blonde hair tied up in pigtails. Some were of an older girl, one who El thought was very pretty and looked nearly identical to Mike.
Others were of five people, one of those people being the boy off in the other room. They all looked so happy. Even Mike had a smile on his face in most of them.
"Who are these people, Mike?" She asked once he'd returned, pointing toward a certain photo that had caught her eye.
"Ah, that would be my family. That's my dad, my mom, my sisters and me."
"But you said it was just you and your dad?"
"It is. My mom's gone and my older sister Nancy lives in New York City. She took Holly with her, said she didn't need someone like me around her all the time."
"She left you behind? How could she do that, you're her brother?" El questioned in disbelief. Sure, she didn't have any siblings, but even she knew that siblings shouldn't treat each other that way.
"Yepp, I'm her brother who only makes bad choices and gets into too much trouble, meaning I'm a terrible role model." Mike sighed, glancing at the picture once more, then headed off toward the steps.
El was quick to follow him, not wanting to get lost in such a big house. They walked into what she assumed was his bedroom, her curiosity getting the best of her again as she immediately began to look around.
"You can sit down if you want." Mike said after a moment, gesturing toward his unmade bed.
She grimaced at the sight of his bed, words that Papa had once spat at her going off in her head in an instant.
"An unmade bed is unacceptable, Eleanor. It shows laziness and I will not tolerate it. You make this bed every morning once you wake or you won't have a bed."
She shook his threatening words away and sat right down on it. She was a bit tired from all that walking they'd done, so her legs could definitely use the rest.
El watched as Mike dug around in a pile of clothes lying on the floor, tossing things aside until he found what he'd been searching for.
"Be right back." He told her, before disappearing off into the hallway.
She took this as her moment to look around the room. It was a bit messy, his clothes and shoes strewn around like a tornado had blown through.
The walls were painted a light blue color, which she thought was very pretty, especially compared to the white walls she was forced to look at every day. He had a lot of random things hanging on those walls, some she could name, some she couldn't.
There was a couple of posters from some well known movies, along with one of a girl, not wearing much of anything. El found that one to be a little odd, but it was his room, not hers.
Much like the rest of his house, it was far more decorated then her own bedroom. That wasn't saying much though, seeing as she didn't really have anything of the sort in hers. Her room was incredibly plain and now that she'd seen this one, she wanted one just like it.
After a minute or two, Mike walked back in, his hair a bit more tame now. He was also wearing a new pair of jeans, but no shirt. El gasped as soon as she realized that last part, her hands shooting up to cover her eyes.
"You can look, you know?" Mike snorted, though she still didn't move her hands.
"But you're changing!"
"Yeah, just my shirt."
"Oh, okay then." She said, while slowly letting her hands fall away from her face.
Mike said it was okay to look, so she would look.
She did more than just look though, she was full on staring at him now. She couldn't help it though. She had never seen, well, anyone without a shirt on in real life.
It was a rather pleasing sight and she couldn't really understand why. She'd seen plenty of guys on television without a shirt on, guys with way more muscles than Mike has, but those guys didn't have this much of an effect on her. It was like she was under some kind of spell and there was nothing that could possibly pry her eyes away from him.
"Like what you see?"
El was so locked in on his shirtless form that she didn't seem to catch on to what he was implying, eventually speaking the first words that came to mind. "Mike, you're really pale."
"And you really don't have a filter do you?" He laughed, the sound like music to her ears. It was the first real laugh she had heard come out of him and she really hoped it wouldn't be the last.
She had gotten a bit distracted by the sound and of course, him, but the cluelessness over what he said quickly took over. She really hated not being able to understand things sometimes.
"I can tell by the look on your face that you're confused, so before you ask, it means that you don't know what to say and what not to say when talking to someone."
"Oh. I'm sorry." El muttered, her gaze ashamedly falling down to the floor.
"Don't be, I was only kidding. I really don't have much of a filter either, so I shouldn't be talking." He grinned, bringing a small smile to her face. "Alright, let's go. There's a whole world out there for you to see right?"
"Yes! Let's blow the joint, Mike!" She exclaimed, walking right out of the room and rushing off down the stairs, before he could even get another word in.
She could hear the sound of his laughter from before, only this time it was a little softer, like he was trying to keep her from hearing it.
She wasn't entirely sure if she used that term right, which was probably why he was laughing at her, but she couldn't care less. Her tiny little body was packed full with excitement over what the following hours would hold.
Nothing could ruin this day for her, nothing.