𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕣 𝕄𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 | ᵐⁱˡᵉᵛᵉⁿ ᵒⁿᵉˢʰᵒᵗˢ

first night here

(Mike and El: age 12)

November 1983

He couldn't sleep that night. Not even a wink. Not only because his best friend was missing, and nobody had the smallest clue as to where he could be, or who could have taken him, or if he'd ever see him again. It was mainly that there was a girl, who some may call strange (Mike would say intriguing) asleep in his cold basement, alone.

El is what he called her, short for Eleven. Nobody deserved a number as a name, a printed number on their wrist treating them like an object to be used. Now Mike didn't know this girl, her story, or why she was in the woods in the middle of a storm so late; though he did know that she was innocent. She wasn't dangerous. Something was wrong.

She didn't speak. Was she just quiet? Did she have some sort of mental illness? Where were her parents? He'd never seen her around before. Who were her parents? Why did she have a shaved head? Not that he minded, to him, she looked kinda cute. She had gorgeous glistening brown eyes and the cutest button nose. Her skin was perfectly tanned and her little hair showed off her cute bone structure.

Was she okay? Was she crying? Was she trying to escape? Was she hungry? Did she need water? She was very skinny and small, when was the last time she ate? Why wasn't she wearing normal clothes? Was she not from here?

The thoughts took over his young mind. He couldn't get some rest until he checked that she was okay. She'd been down there on her own for hours now.

Mike quietly rolled out of his warm duvet, a luxury El had never been given. He searched through his drawers for the torch he used to go camping with his dad and grandpa a year or two back, back when his father cared, and turned it on so that he could see through the misty dark hallways.

He held his ears up to each of his siblings doors and then his parents. To his luck, they were all sleeping. He quietly made his way down the stairs, and then through the kitchen and down the basement stairs. As he arrived he checked the basement digital clock, his favorite clock, it was so cool: 3:34am. He had to get up in 2 hours, and he still hadn't slept, at all.

He then kept his torch shining at the floor, not wanting to wake her in case she was asleep. He hesitantly approached the fort he built, and opened it slowly, hoping to see the cute girl sleeping, and not afraid. And to his relief, that's exactly what he saw.

She was lay on her side snuggled up in the couple blankets he gave her, clearly cold. Her breathing was steady and her eyes were shut, she was in what looked like quite a peaceful sleep. Her face was slightly puffy and blotchy, indicating she had been crying quite a lot, which broke Mike's heart, though he expected it.

As he admired her adorable features, he noticed a shiver move down her body, making El shift slightly. It did get quite cold in the basement during the winter.

He quietly got up and took the throw from the basement sofa, coming back over and gently placing it over her along with the other thin blanket or two. He brought it up so that it covered her whole body, and gently used his thumb to wipe a tear he noticed on her cheek.

He hoped that she would be okay when they say goodbye tomorrow. Though truthfully, he didn't want to say goodbye. The party could get to know her, maybe she could be another member...

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She was staring at the patterned blankets that created the cozy fort she had been kindly offered to sleep in, crying heavily. She was so, so, so scared. She trusted Mike, short for Michael, and she hoped he trusted her too, El, short for Eleven. But what if he didn't?  What if he called social services and just like that her and his whole household and his friends were dead?  What kind of mess had she gotten them into?

She hoped and prayed that this innocent boy and his friends wouldn't get dragged into the mess as to where Will was. She wanted to help, to take him back, but she didn't need anyone to know how. Though part of her wanted them to know, they deserved to know. After all, he is the person they love, not her. She is just an experiment, so she has been told her whole life.

As she quietly sobbed into her delicate, bony hands, picturing the terrifying events that she feared were coming to her next, she heard the basement door open, and small foot steps, making its way across the perfect, clean and fluffy carpet. A small light came along with it. She saw a small shadow figure through the thin blankets of the fort, it must have been Mike.

El quickly got comfy and closed her eyes, not wanting to cause any more trouble than what she had already. She brought the blankets up to her freezing body, though they didn't do much. She was however beyond grateful - it was much comfier than what she got at the lab: an all white tiled room with no decoration other than a small white bed of what felt like rocks. No blankets. The only thing cozy about it was her small teddy, the thing she'd cry her frustrations into every night. Something she needed right now.

Her flashbacks were however broken by the opening of the fort. She opened her eyes slightly to see that it was Mike, which gave comfort to her frail body. There was no movement for a minute or two, until she felt another blanket gently being placed over her cold body, and being adjusted to cover her fully. It made her feel cozy and warm, slightly happy.

She then felt a warm thumb touch her cold face and wipe a salty tear from her cheek, which sent a warm sensation to her body. She felt so much comfort from such a small touch, it made her feel at home. Though she had never truly known what that felt like, she'd never had a home. Little did she know that not only the warm neighborhood outside of the lab would be her home, but the people among it. Especially a young boy in particular.

El wanted nothing more than to open up now and cry, tell Mike about her troubles how she has never been able to before. Though she knew that was a stretch, she simply couldn't.

She also knew however that she couldn't leave any time soon, it was too dangerous. She'd have to stay here for a while, she just didn't know how.

A minute or so later she felt Mike close the fort and move back up the stairs, closing the basement door gently.

In the first time of what felt like years and years, and in fact was years and years, she finally got to catch some sleep, and she didn't wake up once until she was awoken by what she didn't know was her soulmate, the person she'd share the rest of her life with, Micheal Wheeler.

This was kinda short but I actually really like this.