brutal ━ mike wheeler

one. new living

one━━━━
NEW LIVING

stranger things;
season 5 ep 0

ADRIAN WAS BIKING DOWN the narrow roads in between his own house and some other run down homes that he had grown used to seeing. His hands gripped the handles of the bike Mike had practically forced him to take. His lungs burned as the Hawkins heat bared down onto him, sweat dripping down his forehead. And the thick jacket that he was wearing didn't help either.

His legs felt like they were on fire from how fast he was pedaling. He didn't even dare look behind him as he swerved into the forest, trying to take a shortcut through the woods.

The trees thinned after a minute, the dirt path spilling him out onto a quiet road on the other side of the forest. Adrian slowed just long enough to catch his breath before taking a sharp left, pedaling again toward the familiar neighborhood.

Toward the Wheeler house. The sight of the two-story home felt like a breath of fresh air. The porch light hadn't been turned on yet because of the faint blue sky still shining, but the house glowed faintly with the warm light from inside. Adrian coasted the last few feet before hopping off the bike and quickly dragging it over to the side of the house, leaning it up against the wall.

His chest rose and fell as he tried to steady his breathing. Everything was fine. He totally wasn't sporting a few more bruises than usual, and his ribs definitely didn't feel like he was about to combust. He was fine. He'd done this before.

Adrian crept toward the side of the house where he had climbed up so many times, gripping onto the edge and hoisting himself up. He placed his foot on the edge and tried to make his way over to the bedroom window that Mike had started to leave unlocked. Headlights suddenly swept across the driveway and blared directly onto him.

Adrian froze for a moment, slowly turning around as the car rolled slowly up the drive, gravel crunching under the tires. The engine shut off and the headlights clicked off a moment later.

Adrian stayed very still, hoping that whoever it was just wouldn't see him. He was never that lucky, though. The driver's door opened and shut, and the he heard the sound of Nancy's voice cutting through the air. "Adrian? Is that you?"

Adrian straightened up, trying to look like he hadn't just been halfway across the trim trying to get into brother's window room. He slowly made his descent, fixing his posture and the jacket he was wearing. "Hey," he said, forcing a crooked smile. "You know you can just use the front door, right?"

Nancy walked a few steps closer, her eyes scanning him quickly, her gaze sharpening at the jacket that he had been wearing. "Why are you wearing a jacket?" She asked slowly, "it's seventy-nine degrees out." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yeah," he said. "I run cold." Nancy stared at him with a look of bewilderment. Adrian shifted his weight. Nancy's gaze moved carefully over him again, taking in the way he kept his arms tucked close to his sides. The way the sleeves were pulled down past his wrists. The way he avoided moving too much.

She noticed it all, and it made a horrible feeling rise in the pit of her stomach. "Adrian." He glanced at her, humming softly. Her eyes drifted to the faint edge of purple peeking just above the collar of the jacket. "Take it off."