ᵖᵃʳᵗ ⁹ - ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ʙᴏx
❛ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴡᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀ sᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ? ❜
The first thing he noticed was how dark it was; he could barely see anything, a blue tint in the air.
The second thing he noticed was how cold it was; goosebumps lining his arms and legs, hairs standing tall on the back of his neck as he shivered.
And third, was the hands touching his body shaking him.
"Ven!"
His eyes focused, turning to the person by his side, seeing Eleven in a panicked state, looking around them with paranoia.
The boy sat up quickly--almost headbutting El, who jumped back to avoid it--looking around him, his heart dropping in his chest when he realized where they were.
The Upside Down.
They were somewhere in the school, the walls were covered in vines, slime coating the walls, and little white flecks floating through the toxic air.
He stood to the ground, his hand tightly clasped in El's, "Lucas?!"
Eleven glanced at him, feeling the same terror, "Mike?"
The two ran through the halls crying out the boys' names, Eleven almost tripping multiple times.
Ven furrowed his brows when he saw something glowing, tugging the girl with him.
He walked closer to it, his eyes recognizing the red, slimy, glowing hole--one very similar to the one he and Nancy climbed through.
The boy went first, climbing through the hole with a large gasp when he finally breathed in the fresh air, the boy turning to help El who was having trouble, about to fall face-first onto the ground.
When the two made it, they stood in the hall, looking around, it was their world.
So the first thing they thought to do was scream out for their friends, but Lucas, Mike, nor Dustin shouted back or came to their rescue.
"Shit," Ven mumbled, his hand tightly grasping the crying girl's as he began to lead the two outside, walking into the line of trees in the back of the school.
──
It had been a while since they were left alone. They didn't know exactly how long, the days were starting to blend together in the eyes of Ven.
All they knew was their hair was growing longer, like the days. And the weather was cold, like Seven's attitude since he was slowly losing hope.
The ground was covered in snow, the two walking in silence through the woods, the sun was setting, they could see it through the trees.
Eleven glanced a Seven when his stomach growled, hers soon following, the girl looked around her eyes landing on 2 squirrels climbing up a nearby tree.
Ven released a small flinch when he heard a bang, turning to see El holding out a dead squirrel towards him.
Though he was disgusted, staring at the dead animal, he was starving.
The two walked back to the tree they sleep in, the boy crouching down to start another fire while El walked around gathering two sticks and began skinning the animal as she sat on the log.
The boy took a seat next to her, cuddling into the jacket he stole from one of the hunters they had seen earlier, his eyes trailing to Eleven who would occasionally stop and stare into the fire.
"Do you want me to do it?" he whispered, though it was like a shout since it was so quiet, just the crackling of the fire making a sound.
Eleven sighed, "Please."
He took the animals from the girl and started where she finished. He could feel her stares but he didn't glance back.
El watched the orange glow flicker on the boy's face a frown on hers. The two rarely spoke anymore, small talk here and there, but Ven was slowly shutting her out more.
She could tell he still cared and was still worried, but even though she missed Mike, she had a feeling he missed them more since the party were the only ones besides her that would give him the chance of day.
"What?" Ven questioned, his eyes trailing to her.
El snapped her eyes to the fire, "Nothing."
"Well, here." He handed the girl a stick, the squirrel on the end the two began roasting the animal, yet again another silence filling the air.
"Will we ever see them again?" Eleven decided to try and get him to talk, staring towards the boy once in a while.
Seven didn't look at her, his heart slightly hurting at the fact that maybe they won't see the boy's again, but he didn't want to make El sad so he just smiled softly.
"Someday."
──
Seven grasped Eleven's hand in his as they walked around looking for other squirrels they could eat.
It was the next day, the sun was out yet it was still very cold, only the large coats they stole keeping them warm.
Ven let go of the girl's hand and started collecting sticks to add to the fire later, since he could already tell today was gonna be a bad night.
The boy's brows furrowed when he saw a lump in the snow, "Ellie, wait."
Eleven stopped walking, turning to stare at the boy with a confused face, "Huh?"
Ven crouched down with the wood in his arm, using his other hand to swipe the snow off the lump revealing a wooden box nailed into the ground.
El bent down next to him, hesitantly opening the box.
Both of their eyes widened when they see two covered bowls, a small of rainbow cereal, and two waffles in suranwrap, and two water bottles.
Ven looked around cautiously before nudging El with a whisper. "Grab it."
She nodded, hurriedly grabbing the food and drinks before the two ran off back to their tree, Ven starting another fire and El setting up their food.
──
It had been a few days, the two had began going back to the box, each time the two found more food and waffles and cereal.
It was nighttime, they were walking once again through the woods, going to check on the box but Ven stopped making El look at him in concern.
She quietly gasped as the boy grabbed her and hid her and himself behind a tree, the two peaking out from behind it to watch the man put the food in the box.
Ven watched the man walk away, grabbing El's hand he began following the man when they saw him in front of his truck.
A twig snapped under El's shoe making the man turn with a soft smile on his face as he stared at the familar children.
Ven scanned the man's face before returning the smile, "Hey, Hopper."
──