Any Time At All

Chapter Sixteen

"Is that real?" Mike leans forward to touch the black, faded marks on her wrist. She pulls her arm back quickly and frowns at him. Your jaw drops and you sit next to Mike on the floor, in front of Eleven. She's like, twelve and has a tattoo. "Sorry, I've just never seen a kid with a tattoo before," he apologizes to her. She shoots you a quick look and you give her a small smile. "What's it mean? Eleven?" She points to herself.

"That's your name, Eleven?" You ask with sorrow. She nods her head. 

"Eleven. Okay," he says, like he has to approve it. "Well, my name's Mike. Short for Michael."

"You already know my name," you wink at her and she smiles.

"Maybe we can call you 'El'. Short for Eleven," he perks up. She nods once again and you decide that it's time to head home. 

"Night, Mike. El," You say and look at her. She grins at the sound of her new name. You shut the door behind you and go back out into the rain. You run to your car and slam the driver's side door, closing you in. It's freezing and you turn the heat all the way up, not having to worry about El's fearful reaction. You begin the short ride home and turn on the radio. Sunglasses At Night by Corey Hart plays and you quietly sing along to it even though no one would be able to tell if you were screaming the lyrics.

When you pull into your driveway, you see that Steve's house lights are still on. You see his car in the driveway. You make an impulsive decision to go up to his front door. You ring the door bell and stand out in the freezing rain. You jump up and down slightly to get warm while waiting for the door to open. As it opens, you give Steve a small smile. He stands there with his eyebrows raised. Once he realizes that your shivering, he gets concerned and motions for you to come inside. "What are you doing here?" He asks and takes your drenched coat from your back. He puts it on a coat hanger and quickly grabs a blanket for you. You take off your shoes before walking any further. 

"I saw your lights on and I wanted to talk to you about something, in person," You go into his living room and he follows after you. Plopping yourself down on the warm cushions, you pick your legs up so that they're against your chest and you wrap the blanket around yourself. 

"About what, exactly?" He asks suspiciously. He eyes you strangely and sits down beside you.

You turn your body to him, so you don't strain your neck. "You and Nancy. Before you say anything," you say as he opens his mouth to speak. "Before you say anything, I just wanted to say that it's alright, not that you need my permission or anything, that's not what i'm going after," you stumble over your words. "I'm just saying that Nancy is my best friend and I only want her to be happy. However, I don't want her to be taken away from me. She's kind of all I've got."

"I get that she's your best friend and I will respect that but don't you also have Barb, the boys, and, well, I don't know, your boyfriend, Connor?" He asks. You can tell by his tone that he is taunting you.

"Barb is more friends with Nancy, I don't really talk to her when I'm not with Nancy. The boys, yeah, I have a bunch of twelve year old boys who can be there for me and talk about girl things," you say sarcastically. "As for Connor, you're right. I forgot about him," you laugh a little. 

He laughs with you and smiles. You miss being like this with Steve. Friendly. "Hey, I'm sorry to hear about Will," he says, becoming serious again. 

"Yeah, me too."

"I don't know him at all, really, but I heard that he's a sweet kid," Steve says and gives you a closed mouth smile. 

"He's amazing. He is a creative, smart, and caring young boy and I really hope they find him," You wipe a tear from your eye quickly and your voice is thick. Steve gives you a concerned look. You take in a quick breath from your nose and throw the blanket off of you. "I better get going," you say and get up.