SOUR CANDY KISSES ➭ MAX M.

iv: NOT MY MIKE

🗒 ❛ y / n ༉‧₊˚✧

"IS THERE A number we can call for your parents?" mike asks the new girl. i had a bad feeling about her, she seemed odd.

"where's your hair?" dustin asks her. "do you have cancer?"

"dustin? really?" i ask him. i had enough brains to know that a cancer patient would talk. and most likely not run away.

"are you in some kind of trouble?" mike asks her. he was only focused on her. he barely batted an eye at me when bev and i almost fell off my bike.

"is that blood?" lucas asked, wide eyed while pointing to the new girl's shirt.

"stop it, you're freaking her out!" mike squawks, pushing away lucas' arm harshly.

"she's freaking me out!" the panicking boy retorts.

"maybe she's deaf?" beverly suggests, shrugging her shoulders.

dustin decides to try this, clapping his hands loudly.

the girl jumped at the sudden noise. "nope, not deaf."

"that's enough, all right? she's just scared and cold," mike says, looking a the girl in admiration.

he ran to the other side f the basement and grabbed some of his old clothes. "here, these are clean. okay?" the girl nodded, going to take off her shirt as the boys freaked out and covered their eyes.

dustin looked frightened.

"hey, hey," beverly cooed, walking towards the girl as i followed.

"bathroom, see?" she continued, leading the girl into the empty room.

"privacy," i tell her as she nods and we go to close the door.

"no," the new girl says, speaking for the first time.

"how about like this?" beverly questions, leaving the door open slightly and making sure the girl knew we weren't leaving her. she just nodded.

we could hear the boys bickering from the main area in the basement.

"so," bev asked, nudging my side as a squirmed.

"mike, huh?"

i drop the big pack of nerds i reached from my pocket.

"what?" i ask, my voice wavering as i bent down to retrieve my treat.

"no, mike? no," i lie, horribly at that while popping a handful of nerds into my mouth.

"your precious candy won't save you now," bev joked, taking my box away as i desperately reached for it.

"just tell my the truth and you can have them," she said, wiggling the box in the air. i gave her a deadpan look before nodding, not being able to say anything due to the amount of candy in my mouth.

"haha! i knew it," she exclaimed triumphantly, pouring some of my candy in her hand before handing me my box back.

"dammit, bev," i groan, looking at the almost empty box. "you ate half of them!"

all she did was giggle in response before the door opened and el walked out.

"here you go," mike says to her, handing her a sleeping bag. "this is my sleeping bag."

the rest of us walk up the stairs. i watched mike longingly as he talked to the girl.

-

"OH, THIS IS WEIRD. he's never this late," dustin says, reffering to mike.

"i'm telling you," lucas started, holding out his hand for some of my crybaby's. "his stupid plan failed," he said, his voice muffled from the candy.

"i thought you liked his plan?" i ask, all of us laughing when lucas pulled an uncomfortable sour face.

"yeah, but obviously it was stupid, or he'd be here," he said, wheezing at the end. "what's in that shit? death?"

i laugh as dustin continues, "if his mom found out a girl spent the night..."

"he's in deep shit," lucas confirms, reaching in his bag to grab his water, downing it.

"come on it's not that bad," i tell him, eating more.

"yea? i'm surprised your tongue hasn't fallen off."

-

"ARE YOU OUT of your mind?" lucas asks mike hysterically.

"just listen to me-"

"you are out of your mind!" lucas interrupts mike, waving his hands in the air.

"she knows about will," mike says, grabbing the photo where we all got third for our science project.

"she does?" i ask, maybe she was better than i thought.

"yeah," mike says in a harsher tone, eyeing me. "she pointed at him, at his picture." he said, looking to everyone except me. "she knew he was missing. i could tell."

"you could tell?" lucas asked, doubtful.

"just think about it," he said, putting the photo back in its original place.

"yeah, do you really think it was a coincidence that we found her on mirkwood?" i butt in, mike looking at me like i killed hs dog. "the same place where willy disappeared?"

"willy," mike mocked under his breath, although i could hear him. 

"that is weird," dustin agreed.

"and she said bad people are after her. i think maybe these bad people are the same ones that took will. i think she knows what happened to him," he said, speaking really fast. as if he were afraid i was going to speak again.

"then why doesn't she tell us?" beverly questions harshly. she had never used this voice on anyone i knew before. "do you know where he is? do you know where will is?" she says, shaking the girl's shoulders.

"bev," i whisper as she looks at me before looking back at the girl, backing away from seeing her so scared.

"see? this is why she shouldn't be here! she's scaring her!" mike yells hotheaded, glaring at me as if it were my fault.

"she should be scared!" lucas yells back at mike before looking at the new girl. "if you know where he is, tell us! this is nuts, we have to take her to your mom."

"no!" mike screams, pushing lucas from the new girl. "eleven said telling any adult would put us in danger."

"eleven?" everyone besides dustin asks.

"el for short."

"what kind of danger?" the dustin quizzes as mike makes a gun with his hand, pointing it at him then dustin.

"no, no, no!" lucas rants, slapping mike's hand away from dustin.

"we're going back to plan a. we're telling your mom."

he walks towards the door, opening it before it slams. he tries again but the same thing happens as we watch baffled.

"no," eleven tells him sternly, her nose bleeding.