within reach | back to you sequel

ii; desperate eyes

TWO

squinting her eyes, eleven yawned, her body stiff from lack of movement for a long period of time. standing up, she brushed off the snow that had crept through the cracks of the shed she had slept in for the night, carefully opening the door and walking out.

snow was falling, not as rough as it had been the previous day, but it still marked it's presence. it was still dark out, making it rather difficult to see anything. so instead of continuing her way through the woods, she treaded towards the large house that sat just a few feet away.

passing by the dirty pool, glazed with slick ice, she looked in and for the first time-- since she had left mike-- saw her reflection. and god, how she wished she hadn't.

walking up to the window of the house, eleven peered inside, spotting an empty living room. the idea of warmth was tempting enough that eleven found herself in front of the back door, contemplating whether to sneak in or not.

before she could make a decision though, the door swung open, a boy's eyes widening in shock, spitting a few curse words while eleven took a few steps back in surprise.

scoffing, the boy rubbed his forehead, muttering words under his breath before meeting eleven's eyes.

"you lost or somethin'?" he asked, crossing his arms. "looking for someone? "

"yes" eleven replied simply, swallowing her nerves.

"yes that you're lost or yes that you're looking for someone?"

eleven hesitated, "both"

scratching his jaw, the boy shrugged, "well, uh, come in."

stepping aside, he made way for eleven to enter, which she did, the immediate warmth of the home engulfing her. it was what she had dreampt of for countless nights.

"is there a phone number i should call?" he asked, picking up the phone.

eleven shrugged as she rubbed her hands together, no clue of what mike's home phone number could've been.

"a name?" The boy pushed for more information, slightly anxious to get the kid out of his house. "i could check the phone book."

"mike"

"mike? mike what?"

"i-i...don't know"

"anybody else?"

"dustin, lucas--" eleven paused to think of the name of the boy that had gone missing. "will"

"wait, wait," he furrowed his eyebrows. "nancy's brother and his group of friends? "

"yes" eleven's eyes lit up.

"are you related to nancy o-or uhm, dustin?"

"no"

"could you hurry up--" eleven turned around, meeting the gaze of a shorter boy, whose eyes narrowed at the sight of her.

"who's the freak?"

"back off, would you? she's lost" the older boy looked to eleven again, pursing his lips. "you're a girl, right?" eleven nodded.

the kid scoffed, eyeing her, "why does she look like that?"

"why don't you run off to your friends house already?"

"but you're my ride--"

"use your legs, dipshit"

the youngest casted a glare at eleven before exiting the living room and eleven couldn't help but find familiarity in his appearance. the phone rang a few times before she turned around at the faint voice of someone on the other line.

"she's not picking up," he sighed, grabbing his keys, "come on"

eleven watched as he walked towards the front door, hesitant to follow the stranger. after all, he could be one of the bad men pretending to know mike.

"let's go, i don't have all night" he swung the door open.

eleven trailed behind him and got inside the vehicle, watching as he started the engine. she could feel the occasional glance he'd spare her as he drove out of the driveway, towards nancy's.  and as they did, eleven's
lips tilted unto a smile as they passed the supermarket she had stolen eggo's from.
i

t wasn't long until the car had pulled over, feet away from the two story house eleven recognized in a heartbeat.

but the red and blue of flashing sirens from a police car--two police cars-- had both of them sitting still. the cop cars were sitting in front of the wheeler's household, but they seemed to have nobody inside them.

eleven was the one to get out of the car,  stalking carefully towards the large window tharpeered into the first floor the wheeler's home. her heart was peircing at the sight of mike, whose eyes were red and glossy as he spoke to a woman.

it wasn't the first time the cops were at mike's home, they were only here because somebody at reported the sighting of a homeless girl and they felt it was necessary to do an inspection of the wheelers home.

but when his own desperate eyes met hers, for the first time in what seemed like months, eleven froze, mentally deciding what to do next. so when the woman turned around to meet the sight of el, she brought the walkie to her lips and immediately  barked orders. eleven turned around, almost tripping over her own feet as she ran back to the car.

"what's wrong?" the teenage boy asked, opening the car door and sticking half of his body out in an attempt to see if anything was following her.

"go" el ordered, throwing herself back in the car

"what? why--"

"steve?"

eleven saw the familiar girl walking towards them, a look on confusion plastered on her face. muffled voices were heard from where they were, three people beginning to fan out. a light flashed at his car , their eyes widening as a man hollered for others.

"let's go,"

and despite his girlfriend ordering an explanation and officers making their way towards him, steve got inside the car and stomped on the reverse pedal. backing out of the driveway,  swerving the car around, he gripped the stick shift as he sped back to his own home.

__________

a/n;

oof, this was rewritten and tbh i completely like this version better. it was what i lowkey hoped would be a duo in s2 but el and hopper was fantastic, so i couldn't ask for more.

hopefully you understand and hopefully you liked the chapter.