Before Her | Mike Wheeler X Reader

Two

D U S T I N

          I hopped off the bike right on front of my place, walking it by the stairs that lead up to the door while she just sat on it, looking so serious and scary. Once it was leaned on the wall, I grabbed her arm and started to run. She pulled back, her eyes squinted at me in a defensive manner. "Are you shitting me right now?" I spat.
          "I think she went this way." We heard distant yells. She outstretched her arm in fear like a little puppy regretting not taking my help. Again, I grabbed her arm and dashed up into the house. "Dustin, honey? Is that you?" Mom's voice echoed. The girl flinched at the sudden loudness, and slowed down. "Yeah, Mom!"
          "And who is this?" She looked down at the girl with wonder as she held Mews close to her. "Oh! Uhm, this is my friend . . . C-Clarence?" I raised a brow looking at the girl who just stared at my mother. "She– He! He's staying here for tonight!" I lied, giving her a nervous smile. "Ah, well, run along then."
          Okay, how did she not notice her outfit?
          I dashed upstairs with her and locked the door. "Who are you?" I yelled, as she cowered in the corner of my room. "Are you some sort of . . ." I looked her up and down. Her feet were bare and she wore a dirty hospital gown. "Magical creature?" I continued. She looked up at me, then at the small tank with Yurtle in it. "Oh– That's Yurtle, the turtle!" I cheered. "T-Turtle . . . ?" She asked, confusion written all over her face. "Shit. I didn't think I'd have to explain this . . . It's like, Uhm, a slow creature?" I paused for a while. "It likes water, and they have a shell they live in."
I looked down at her only to see she was gone. I heard a small click, and turned to see her holding Yurtle in her palm, looking as though she could eat it. "Turtle." She whispered as Yurtle tried to crawl away. "Hey!" I nervously chuckled, then ran up to her, grabbing Yurtle and placing him back in his tank. "Let's try not to touch Yurtle!" I cheered. She sat down on the ground, staring at the nothingness. "Hungry." She whispered. "Hungry?" I immediately dashed downstairs and took some chips from the pantry.
As I opened the door to my room, I saw her looking up at Yurtle, who was floating in a small blob of water. "Holy shit." I muttered, causing her to jerk her head up. I watched as the blob of water dropped on my carpeting, soaking everything on it, and Yurtle simply walking away. "W-What kind of sorcery is this?"
She stood up and looked down at the chips. "Hungry." She states once more, her eyes looking so helpless at the chips. Sighing, I threw some at her and watched as she devoured it. "This is some crazy shit." I sat down beside her. "I'm Dustin." I whispered. She just looked up at me with her mouth full of chips. "You?" I asked. She doesn't answer. Instead, she looked down and pondered.
I noticed a mark on her right arm, which read '(N)'. "(N)? What does that mean?" I suddenly remembered the men who yelled out that number. "(N)'s your name?" She shrugged.

*TIME SKIP*

I had already left for school, and made sure (N) had stayed in my room. I left some chips for her, and locked the door. I rode my bike down to school, catching up on Mike and Lucas. On the way there, Lucas spoke. "Did you hear? Will didn't come home last night." Mike shrugged. "It might not be completely true." My eyes widened. "What do you mean? Of course he went home! I watched him go!"
"So did I." Mike muttered. We placed our bikes at the bike rack just on front of the school. "That's weird. I don't see him." Mike noticed, looking around. "I'm telling you, his mom's right. He probably just went to class early again." Lucas sighed, picking up his backpack. "Yeah, he's always paranoid Gursky's gonna give him another pop quiz." I spoke. Then I suddenly remembered (N). "Oh guys! Wait, I think you need to know something. It's—"
"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen. Step right up and get your tickets for the freak show. Who do you think would make more money in a freak show? Midnight, Frogface, or Toothless?" Troy suddenly said, cutting in. James glared down at me. "I'd go with Toothless." Taking a small gulp, I glare up at them. " I told you a million times, my teeth are coming in. It's called cleidocranial dysplasia." I spat, trying my best to stand tall. "I told you a million times!" Troy mockingly yelled, chuckling at us.
"Do the arm thing."
"Do it, freak!"
I cracked my arms and both James and Troy groaned, recoiling. "God, it gets me every time." Troy spat, pushing us as they walked away. "Assholes." Lucas muttered. Mike gave me a smile. "I think it's kinda cool. It's like you have superpowers or something. Like Mr. Fantastic." I smiled back, slightly shrugging. "Yeah, except I can't fight evil with it."
"But I think I know someone who can."
"Oh? Could they do martial arts?"
"Even better."