False Start

Part Two of Episode Two

authors note: edited? i think....long one drama drama drama... Steve being bit of a jerk as well as Jonathon... some swearing. 

Your jeans drip onto the Wheeler's carpet, and you've definitely left a wet imprint on the couch cushion beneath you. The other boys are dripping as well, but all their attention is on the girl in front of them. Your jeans drip onto the Wheeler's carpet, and you've definitely left a wet imprint on the couch cushion beneath you. 

The other boys are dripping as well, but all their attention is on the girl in front of them. After finding her in the woods, your motherly instincts kicked in, immediately removing your coat to place on her and gently ushering her to your bike and demanding that the boys go back to Mike's. Your mom is home, so your house was out of the question, and it's always been easy sneaking into the Wheeler's, anyways. 

Once you all had made it back, you guided the girl onto the couch and sat next to her. You refuse to let her go too far from you, having no idea where she came from or why, but regardless you know she's too young for any of it to have been good. Which leads you to now: wearily watching the boys stare at the girl as if she's some science experiment, asking her a million questions a second. Bless them and their little prepubescent minds. 

Lucas reaches out to touch her, and before you can nudge him away, Mike slaps at his hand. "Stop it! You're freaking her out!" "She's freaking me out!" Lucas retaliates, which honestly? That's fair. The girl hasn't said anything yet, even after your multiple attempts to get her to do so. No matter how much you try, you can't coax a response out of her. "I bet she's deaf." Your brother offers, suddenly clapping his hands to scare her, making both you and her flinch. "Not deaf..." You roll your eyes at him. "Guys, she's probably just really scared right now. We should give her some space," you look at both Lucas and Dustin, "and time," now you look at Mike.

 The three boys deflate a bit. "She's probably cold," Mike says after a moment of silence, and you nod at his suggestion. Seeing your agreement, he walks over to a basket of clothes and takes out some pajamas. While Mike is away, thunder rumbles and the girl jumps, unconsciously getting closer to you. She's showing more and more signs of trauma response, which makes you uneasy. You remember Hopper saying something about Will being in danger. What are the odds that this little girl was running from something as well? 

"Here, these are clean." Mike's return breaks you from your thoughts, and you take the clothes from him and stand up. You thank him, then offer your hand to the girl. She looks at you uncertainly. "It's okay," you reassure her. "Let's go get you dressed in some warm clothes. I'm right here, sweetheart." "She's super nice." Dustin says, trying to help. Lucas adds, "Yeah, you can trust her." "She's alright." Is all Mike offers. You give them all an appreciative smile, even if Mike is being a bit of an ass, and then you feel a small, cold hand wrap around yours. The girl stands up, looking around shyly, and you lead her to the bathroom. When you go to close the door, she stops you. Mike has followed, seeing the interaction. 

"You don't want it closed?" Her voice is quiet, solemn. "No," You and Mike look at each other, and he voices what you're thinking. "So you can speak, she nods at you, and you stand guard outside the door. It's not that you don't trust the boys, but Mike has only known her for ten minutes and he's already been nicer to her than you've ever seen him with anyone else. The only other person he's this soft spoken to is Will, so you're protective of her. You can hear the boys discussing tonight's events from the living area while the girl gets dressed. They sound scared, and a part of you can't blame them. While you're fairly certain that the girl isn't dangerous, it's still a creepy situation. 

Once again, Hopper's new theory surrounding Will floats through your mind. This all can't be some coincidence. Sighing, you approach the boys and catch a bit of the conversation. "Our houses become Alcatraz." You hear Lucas saying, and you figure they've finally pieced together that there's no way any of you can tell anyone about the girl. None of you were supposed to be out tonight. As much as you know you should tell an adult, you also need to be able to help Jonathan with finding Will. If your mom locks the house down, you're doomed. "Lucas is right," the boys turn to you. "We can't go to anyone about this just yet, but I also don't think it's a good idea to hide her. She's been through something terrible, it's obvious. Tonight, I say she gets some rest. We can figure out what to do later." Mike nods, for once agreeing wholeheartedly with you. "She'll sleep here tonight-" Dustin's eyes widen in horror, "You're letting a girl-" You clamp your hand over his mouth, motioning for Mike to continue.