𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲

viii. protected.

    

     JAMES ENTERS the room where El was in and smiled, "hey..." He went to sit next to her and she looks up at him. "Read me one of the books you bought with you?" She said and he looks away. "Okay." He said and she laid down, covering herself with an orange blanket. As he read, he noticed her close her eyes and start to relax so he closed the book and set it back into his backpack before sitting at a nearby chair and leaning back, he closed his eyes, tired and sighing.

He fell asleep uncomfortably in the chair then was woken up by Kali waking up El. He sat up slowly and looked at the two, "what time is it?" El asked Kali, right when James looked down at his watch. "It's late. You both slept well." Kali said as she also looked over at James. "You could have just slept in a sleeping bag on the floor. We have one." She says and he stood up, stretching his limbs. "I was fine with the chair..." He simply says and Kali glanced up and down before looking at El.

"Come. It's time you meet my friends. Properly this time. James, I know you've met them... But you can still come." Kali says as she stood up and El just watched her. "Come on, Ellie..." James gestured her to get up with his hand. James walked behind the two down the stairs to where Kali's group of friends were. "We need more money, Kal. I can't keep eating this garbage." Axel said as they walk into the room the gang were in. "This is Axel." Kali said, mostly to El rather than James.

"The spider-hater?"

"Yes, the spider hater." Kali said as the others laughed at what El called her before she turned her attention to Dottie, "this is Dottie, our newest." She says to El. "Like you, she just left home." She adds and James looked at her right away. "You mean the loony bin." Axel retorts. "Mick, our eyes, our protector." Kali said and James looks around the room. "This is Funshine, our warrior." Kali said and James watched intently as El now came to face with the tall, large man. "Don't let his size frighten you. Fun's a teddy bear." Kali says.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Jane." James looked away as El shook the man's hand. She gently and slowly twisted his hand with her hand to look at his wrist. "You're looking for a number, you won't find one." Kali told her in a whisper before going to take a seat and El went to her right away.

"They're not like us." El said and Kali looked up at her. "No, not in that way. But like us, they're outcasts." Kali said and El looked at James, remembering when she learned that word. "Is he? Are you an outcast?" Kali says as she looked directly at James who glanced up, looking at her and then around the room. "I mean... sure. I'm the most outcast I can be, you know... I write, I'm always alone in the woods, and... I'm into the same gender." He says and then raised his eyebrows, looking down. "Society left them behind too... Hurt them, discarded them." Kali says as she looked back at El and James looks down.

"We were dead, all of us." Funshine said and James glanced up at Kali. "Kali saved us. Here." He pointed to his head. "And here." He pointed to his chest and James kind of found that beautiful in a way. "Don't get all mushy on us now, Fun." Kali says and James looked back over at her. "No, not mushy. True." Funshine says. "And now we help her." Mick explained further for El.

"In this life, kid, you roll over or you fight back. Same goes to you, pretty boy." Axel said and James huffed. "Since when did I become pretty boy?" He asked as he glanced around. "Point is we're all fighters here." Mick said to them. "Fight who?" El asked as she glanced around.

Kali poured out a bunch of cards with people's names and photos on them. "Everyone you see here was in some way responsible for what happened to us." Kali told El and James quickly connected the dots in his head. El. She can find anyone with her powers, her ability to go into the void and find anyone, wherever they may be.

But he pushed the thought aside, he didn't wanna say anything, he wasn't going to, Kali would probably turn it on him and say it was just him being jealous that El was on her side. He stayed quiet as he looked down at the drivers license El held up of a man named John Pericles.

"You hurt the bad men?" El asked as she glanced up at Kali. "No, we just give 'em a pat on the back." Dottie said sarcastically and James rolls his eyes, looking down. "You kill them?" El asked and James looked at Kali right away. "They're criminals. We simply make them pay for their crimes." She said and James looked at El who looked back at him. "Damn, Shirley. What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." Axel says when El looks back at the drivers license in her hand.

"We can't all be fighters, I guess."

"I'm a fighter. I've killed." El said and for James, it wasn't exactly the most reassuring words for him to hear from a girl he's been taking care of for over a year. "These men you killed, did they deserve it?" Kali asked and James sighed.

"Listen, Kali, I'm not against all of this, I-I'm all in, but uh, El doesn't want to talk about it, but she has killed. And if she says she wants to, we'll go on your little elimination mission, alright?" He said and turned to El, looking at her directly in the eyes. "El, are you sure about this? Because, hey, I'm all in, I-I'm staying if you are but I wanna make sure you're not doing something you don't want to." He says and she just looked at Kali.

"Come." Kali nodded to the side and El followed her as James just sighed and sat down. "So, what is she to you?" Dottie asked him as he took out a cigarette. "Why does everyone we come across ask me that? I took care of her, almost a year, okay? I gave her the clothes on her back, I helped my dad find a nice place for her to stay, I taught her to read." He said and she giggled. "She didn't know how to read?" She set her chin onto her palm.

"No, she didn't. But I taught her, and I'm not leaving the instant she finds what she calls her family. She already has one back home." He says and she sighs. "I'm sorry, pretty boy, but this is your home now." She grinned widely and he looks away. Doesn't feel like it... He missed Steve. He sighed and slid off the seat, standing up. "What's wrong, pretty boy? Missing someone back home?" Dottie followed him around the room and he sighs.

"Maybe... Hey, I'm gonna go check on them." He said and Dottie giggled again like a little girl. "We'll come with!" She followed him excitedly as he walked towards where they went and ended up outside. He walked around and then found them on the tracks, El moving a train compartment. He slowed down, watching her as she screamed, her nose bleeding and her veins showing whenever she used too much of her powers.

She fell to the ground and he was about to run over when Mick, Axel, Dottie and Funshine cheer beside him and El slowly lifted herself up. "Yeah, Jane!" Mick cheered and it felt weird, them calling her Jane and treating her like she didn't have a home back in Hawkins. As they head back inside, El walked ahead with the others and Kali fell back a bit to walk with James. "You're the police man's son, right? That's what Jane told me..." She says.

"Yeah... James..." He said and she nods. "Yeah... thanks for taking care of her, but at the same time you didn't, because you were like them, not letting her use her powers." She said and he stopped suddenly. "Kali, listen, I get the whole thing, with the whole let us be treated the same stuff, of course, I would, but uh, El was just... isolated to be protected. Those men were still looking for her and I hope you understand that." He said and she nods. "Yeah... sure." She looked away but it didn't seem as though she understood quite correctly.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

authors note steve 🤝 james
being called pretty boy because they're pretty,,,