My Number One (001/Henry Creel/Vecna x Reader)

School Run

I had to stay clear of any portals which Henry could possibly send a Demogorgon through to snatch me back. He couldn't exactly send one walking through the street to get me.

It was midday in the real world, and I soon made my way to Mike's house—I had the route memorised by now.

I thought it best just to knock on the front door and ask to her Mike. I had already admitted to his sister that I knew him, and there was no point in acting suspicious.

When I knocked, the door opened in front of me a few seconds later. Behind it stood a pretty middle-aged woman with a head of brown curls. "Hello," she said politely, but in a tone that sounded curious.

"Hello—I'm here to see Mike?"

The woman looked a tad confused, tilting her head, and then laughed. "He's at school, sweetie...why aren't you?"

I wanted to slap myself. I should've known he'd be at school at this time. "Oh...I've just moved here." I felt like that excuse would work for pretty much everything—it had so far.

"Oh, that's lovely! Nice to meet you..." said the woman, smiling, waiting for my name.

"Maggie," I said. I had already thought about this. It wasn't smart to call myself Twelve as it drew too much suspicion, and if anyone from the laboratory tried to find me, they'd probably use that name. Even if they didn't say it was my name, they'd probably inform people to look out for a tattoo of the number, and people might start connecting the dots—it was quite a distinctive word. I had chosen the name Maggie because I'd heard a girl at the stripe club being called it. "Nice to meet you, too."

"Well, anyway, if you're looking for Mike, he usually gets back at about four o'clock. He'll probably have the rest of the boys with him, though—just a heads up." The woman smiled again.

"Thank you," I said. "Where is the school?" I added after a short pause.

"Just to the east of town, sweetie. Why, do you want to meet Mike after school?"

"Yes," I lied. I wanted to meet him now. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Maggie. Have a good day. I hope to see you soon!"

*

I had no idea where the "east of town" was, but I didn't want to press further in case I derived suspicion. I would ask someone else, someone random, who I would never have to see again, so that it wouldn't really matter if they thought anything strange of me.

I spotted a man walking down the street. He looked middle-aged, quite large in build, and wore a brown suede coat.

"Hello," I said, stepping in his path.

"Hello, young lady," he said, looking surprised, but smiling.

"Could you please tell me how to get to Hawkin's Middle School?"

He took a step backwards and widened his eyes. "You're in middle school?"

"No," I said. "I—I just have something I need to give to my little brother."

"I thought you looked too mature! Has the little lad forgotten his school lunch?"

I wasn't holding any pretend lunch, and I didn't want to risk getting caught out, so I said, "He's forgotten his lunch money."

"Ah, well, it's almost midday, he's gonna need it soon! My car's just in my driveway over there, I could give you a lift."

"Yes, please!"

I crossed the road with him as he told me his name, Dean, and I told him mine, Maggie.

Inside the car, Dean started the engine and said, "So, what do you do, Maggie? Are you in high school, college, do you work...?"

"I, uh, I just moved here, so I'm going to be joining the high school, and I work, too," I said as we set off on the road.

"Good for you! I like a driven young lady. What do you work as?"

"I'm a dancer," I said, smiling. I hadn't actually danced on the stage at the strip club yet, but I supposed it still counted as my job, and I knew I'd have to return to it soon now that I had nowhere to stay and no one to look after me.

"Wow!" Dean raised his eyebrows to the sky. "You're like a little bombshell! Although I, not surprised, you suit dancing," he said, taking his eyes off the road to glance at me. "I'd love to see one of your shows one day."

This man seemed to think I was the bee's knees, and I loved it! "That would be great! So, what do you do?" I asked, returning the question out of politeness.

"I own a dessert shop. Sells all kinds of sweet things to eat—ice creams, waffles, candy..."

My eyes lit up. "That sounds lovely."

"Oh, it is. I have a real sweet tooth. You do, too, I'm guessing?"

I didn't know what that term meant, but I nodded my head in agreement, because it seemed like the right thing to do.

"Tell you what—after you go and give your little brother his money, why don't you come down to my shop and I treat you to a free desert?"

"Oh, yes, please!" I exclaimed. It wouldn't take too long to tell Mike I needed to talk to Eleven, or to ask him to pass on the message that, well...humanity was about to be destroyed. I wouldn't exactly word it like that, though.

*

When we arrived at the school, I told Dean I'd return soon and hopped out of the car.

It was the first building I'd seen since leaving the lab that reminded me of the lab itself. The cuboid structure of the building and high fences around it made me feel slightly uneasy. Nonetheless, I made my way inside and began my search for Mike. The moment I stepped inside, a loud bell rang and students began leaving their classrooms and flooding the halls. Instead of finding Mike, I found Lucas.

He stopped dead in his tracks and furrowed his brow. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Mike, but you'll do."

Lucas gestured around us to the hundreds of students passing by. "You can't be here!"

"Why not?"

"It's a middle school! You're not allowed!"

"Well, no one's stopping me." I was a little confused. I wasn't harming anyone or disturbing anything. I was just there to pass on a message.

"Well, they might in a minute!" He sighed. "What did you wanna tell Mike?"

"Tell him..." I thought for a moment about how exactly I would word it.

Lucas then spotted a teacher making her way down the hallway, and he reached for my shoulder, pulled me down to his height, and dragged me into an empty classroom. "You know what, I'll just bring Mike here, it'll take two seconds."

I took a seat at the teacher's desk while I waited. A couple of minutes passed before Lucas returned with Mike, Dustin, and...Eleven.