More Than The Upside Down - An IT (2017) & Stranger Things Crossover

Kindness

Eleven

As Eleven entered Dustin's attic, she couldn't help but fall into a frenzy of sneezes. When she had finished sneezing, she saw Mike staring at her with heavy concern.

"You okay now?" He asked her.

She nodded as guilt began to bang heavily in her chest. She felt bad for leading Mike to his friend's dead body but she could swear that something didn't feel right. Eleven could have sworn that Will was alive, and she was going to find him whether it killed her or not. For Mike.

She couldn't help but smile involuntarily as she thought of Mike's kindness. Even when he hadn't wanted to see her the night before, he still let her stay at his place out of pure care and selflessness.

Not a lot of people had treated her the way Mike does in her lifetime. Besides that nice man who gave her the chips and burger when she was hungry, everybody else had either shunned or hurt her in ways she couldn't comprehend. The guilt grew in her chest at the thought of seeing Mike in pain the day before. She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts from her head.

Can't worry about Mike now. She thought. Have to help other friends.

She walked further into the attic, noticing the gazes and stares of the other kids. Bill and Eddie looked at her with a burning curiosity, whereas Richie and Stan simply frowned at her. She walked up to Eddie and reached out to touch his forehead. He flinched in the process but she kept her finger on his head.

"Use this," She said softly to him.

"What?" Eddie furrowed.

Eleven pulled away and picked up a dirty plate. She let her hand fall and concentrated on allowing the plate to float in the air. The sensation of something pulling in her head thudded gently. Since she had grown used to it by now, though, she had ignored it. She gently settled the plate down on the ground and looked up at him.

She simply looked at him, waiting. "Your turn."

Eddie looked down at the plate she had just levitated. His face scrunched up in concentration but the object did not move an inch. Her nostrils shrank at the putrid smell of sweat coming off Eddie, yet she didn't let that distract her. Eddie attempted to move the plate for a solid minute before slumping back and allowing his face to relax.

"I can't do it," He was beginning to wheeze now.

"Try again," Eleven ordered.

"Give me a fucking sec," Eddie snapped, wheezing even harder. He scrounged his pockets for his inhaler but couldn't find it. "Oh, shit, where the fuck is my inhaler!?"

"Eddie!" Richie called out. "Relax, here's your inhaler." He handed it to his friend.

The smaller boy grabbed it and pressed the trigger on the inhaler once it was in his mouth. A look of confusion and fear spread across his face faster than you could say what's wrong? His breathing was growing rapid now and Eleven saw Richie run over to Eddie.

"Eddie!" Richie yelled. "What's wrong?"

"My inhaler's out." Eddie wheezed heavily.

Pure fright made Richie's face light up like Christmas lights in December and he put his hands on his friend's shoulders.

"Eddie, look at me," Richie instructed.

Eddie looked at him with a scared expression.

"You can do this," Richie softly said as he pulled Eddie into a hug. "Just breathe."

"I fucking can't," Eddie snapped between breaths.

"You can," Richie said sternly.

Within a few minutes, Eddie's breathing was back to normal and he let go of his friend. He looked at Eleven and asked, "How do you do it?"

"Like this," Eleven said and began to instruct him on how to levitate the plate. She kept an eye on his breathing to make sure that he was okay. With Richie in Eddie's peripheral, he managed to lift the plate a few inches.

"Practice," Eleven nodded at him before walking back to Mike. Who looked at her with eyes filled with pride.

That expression on him made her feel as warm as if she was drinking hot chocolate in winter; sweet, warm and safe. She would never forget that look for years to come. Sometimes, she would see it in her dreams and wake up smiling. It was the sole reason she loved going to sleep, just to have that possibility of seeing that look on his face once again.