Bookworm & Toothless (Stranger Things AU) #Wattys2018

[4]

They were all back at Mike's house, surrounding the girl that had on Mike's jacket and was sitting on the couch in the basement.

"Is there a number we can call for your parents?" Mike asked, looking genuinely worried.

"Where's your hair? Do you have cancer?" Dustin asked.

"Did you run away?" Lucas asked.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" Jess asked calmly, looking at the girl sympathetically.

"Is that blood?"

Lucas reached out to touch the red stain on her shirt.

Mike hit his arm back.

"Stop it! You're freaking her out!"

"She's freaking me out!"

"I bet she's deaf."

Dustin claps loudly, causing the girl to flinch.

"Not deaf."

"All right, that's enough, all right? She's just scared and cold." Mike says, leaving to get some clothes.

When thunder rumbled loudly, she gasped, flinching.

"Hey, you're okay," Jess reassured her, causing the girl to look at her, making Jess smile gently.

"Here, these are clean. Okay?" Mike says, handing her a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants.

She takes them, rubbing her face on it comfortingly.

She puts them aside, taking off the jacket Mike gave her and reached to pull off the shirt.

"No, no, no!" Jess and Mike exclaimed, keeping the shirt down as Lucas and Dustin looked away.

"Oh my god. Oh my god." Dustin exclaimed.

"See over there? Th-That's the bathroom. Privacy. Get it?" Mike says, looking at the girl.

The girl looked to Jess who gave a small smile, beckoning her to follow her.

The girl grabbed the clothes Mike gave her and followed Jess with Mike behind her.

Once she entered the bathroom, Mike was closing the door when the girl turned around and stopped him.

"You don't want it closed?" Mike asked Jess next to him.

"No."

Jess grinned.

"She speaks!"

"Oh, so you can speak. Okay, well..." Mike trailed off, looking to Jess.

"How about we just keep the door..." Jess says, Mike, closing the door until there was reasonable about still open.

"Just like this," Mike says, Jess, nodding in confirmation.

"That better?" Jess asked, looking at the girl.

"Yes."

They both nod, smiling at her.

X

"This is mental." Dustin sighed.

"At least she can talk." Mike defended her.

"I can confirm that." Jess agreed.

"She said 'no' and 'yes'. Mike's three-year-old sister says more." Lucas argued.

"She tried to get naked," Dustin says.

"There's something seriously wrong with her. Like wrong in the head." Lucas says.