hello! how are you doing? hope you are great, and sending love to you all :) I wanted to ask what fandoms do you write for and what do you feel comfortable writing and what you wouldn't write, just so I don't request something that makes you uncomfortable. I've been following you for a while and read some pieces and absolutely loved it! That's it for now, thank you so much 💕
hi! you’re so sweet omg <3 we write for a lot! stranger things, marvel, supernatural, that 70s show, ianowt, harry potter, percy jackson, and criminal minds :-) i probs missed some, so feel free to ask!
Summary: (Y/N), also known as Nine, was a girl being experimented on all her life by the Hawkins Lab, conditioned into following every command her brain heard. She managed to escape the lab, with the help of her little sister Eleven, and was taken in by Hopper. Now, it’s a year later, and the three of them are a happy family. She just got her first job, where she works alongside Steve “The Hair” Harrington… who her father doesn’t much like.
Warnings: Swearing
Word Count: 1,088
Notes: ask and you shall recieve the next part! i know there’s not much here, and there’s not much steve in this part, but their section of episode 3 was very short. i promise you there will be more to come thanks to Miss Rona though :)
prologue / one / two
The next day, as you were walking on the first floor of the mall on your way to your shift, you spotted a familiar face hiding behind binoculars in the bushes. It seemed as though they had spotted you too, so you awkwardly waved.
Steve didn’t respond, but Dustin grinned and yelled, “(Y/N)! Get over here!”
You felt your brain go fuzzy as your feet dragged themselves over to where the boys were. Steve was yelling at Dustin in hushed tones about getting “caught being spies,” but you tried to ignore the dumbassery.
“Hi.” You said quietly. You still weren’t comfortable talking normally around anyone except Hopper. Even sometimes with El, you had problems getting out full sentences. She understood, though. Quite often you two could have full conversations, only speaking one word each back and forth.
“I can’t believe she’s with him.” Steve grumbled, clearly looking at someone through the binoculars, ignoring you completely.
“Dude, you are the worst spy in history, you know that?!” Dustin said, grabbing the binoculars.
Steve choked around the neck strap for a second, saying, “Stop, hey. Stop.”
“Give me those!” Dustin said, taking the strap off Steve.
You stood awkwardly, rocking back and forth on your heels. You felt uncomfortable standing there, being a part of this conversation. You felt even more uncomfortable when Dustin said, “I don’t get why you’re even looking at girls anyway. You have the perfect one right in front of you.”
Steve rolled his eyes. “If you’re talking about Robin, I-”
“Robin?! No! (Y/N).” Steve looked at you and met your eyes. You felt the blood drain from your face.
“She’s an experiment, Henderson. She’s not a girl.”
Ow.
You felt like you had been slapped. Here, in the middle of the mall, Steve just said the words that had been haunting you, keeping you from acting like a normal teenager this whole time.
“Steve!” Dustin said. “(Y/N), he didn’t-”
“You’re right.” You huffed, walking away as swiftly as you had walked there. You were glad they didn’t tell you to stay, or come back, or…
You were upset. So, you rushed up the escalator to Robin to start your shift. “Hey, Translator.” She joked, handing Lucas’s little sister a taste of some flavor she didn’t need to taste. Robin looked up at you, used to you not saying hi back. She furrowed her brow when she saw your glossy eyes. “Shit, what happened?” She asked, closing the ice cream case.
Erica started to protest, but Robin just shut her up with a quick “I’m going on my break, twerp.” And she grabbed your arm, pulling you into the back room.
“What happened?” She repeated. You avoided her gaze, but she ducked and dodged her head around to meet your eyes. “(Y/N).”
“Steve said something.”
“What did he say? Tell me.”
Oh fuck.
Your brain went numb as you repeated Steve’s words: “She’s an experiment, Henderson. She’s not a girl.” Robin didn’t know about Eleven, or about Hawkins Lab, or about your past at all. She didn’t know what Steve’s words meant. And yet…
“Dick. He called you an experiment? I mean, sure you’re weird, but like in a cool way.” You let out a breathy laugh. “Seriously. That’s a messed up thing to say, and it’s so not true. Got it?” You nodded. “Cool. So I’ve been trying to translate this bit of Russian all day, and I cannot for the life of me get it down. Can you do it?”
You nodded. You needed her to tell you straight out to translate it, not ask you to. You thought for a second, then asked, “Um, do what?”
“Translate this.” She said, playing the full tape.
Fuzzy brain. “The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west. A trip to China sounds nice if you tread lightly.”
“Tread! That was the word. I was thinkin’ squeeze. That is so not squeeze.”
Suddenly, you heard a knock at the back door. “I got it.” Robin went and opened it, and a delivery guy was standing there. You saw her sign for a package, and then he left. After he left, she ran into the hall and stood, watching him walk away.
“Are you okay?” You asked, walking over.
“Silver cat.” Robin said, pointing at the delivery guy’s uniform. Sure enough, on the back of his dorky LYNX DELIVERY shirt was a picture of a silver cat.
Robin grabbed your hand and the two of you rushed out of the ice cream parlor, pushing past Steve and Dustin on your way. She pulled you to the center of the mall, up onto the planters.
“A trip to China sounds nice.” She said, repeating it over and over to herself as she looked around.
Then it clicked in your brain. “Imperial Panda.” You said, looking at the Chinese restaurant.
“If you tread lightly.”
You pointed right above the restaurant. “Kaufman Shoes.”
“When blue and yellow meet in the west.”
Your head felt like it was spinning. You and Robin looked around and around, until Robin stopped, looking up at the clock. There was a blue hand and a yellow hand.
“Robin.” You two looked down and saw Steve standing there. “The hell are you doing?”
“(Y/N) cracked it.” Robin said, grinning.
“Cracked what?” Dustin asked.
Robin jumped down, helping you down too. “She cracked the code.”
“Of course she did.” Steve mumbled under his breath.
“Let’s take a walk, Steve. I’ll explain the code to you in big, slow words so you understand.” Robin said, leaving you with Dustin.
“Is he always mean like that?” You asked the kid.
He groaned. “Sorry about him. I kinda yelled at him for you after what happened earlier. He apologized, and then I was all ‘Uhh, dude! Don’t apologize to me! Apologize to (Y/N)!’ and then he was all ‘Durrr my brain no workey.’” You laughed at the kid’s energy, and the two of you started walking towards the food court.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime.” There was a pause. “So… the code?”
“Right. Yes.” You tried your best to explain what you and Robin figured out to the kid, stuttering over your words and trying to form full sentences. You did your best, but still not good. He did his best to understand though, repeating everything back to you to see if he was understanding.
He’s a sweet kid. You realized you’re gonna need him if you intended to work around that Steve Harrington much longer.
Summary: (Y/N), also known as Nine, was a girl being experimented on all her life by the Hawkins Lab, conditioned into following every command her brain heard. She managed to escape the lab, with the help of her little sister Eleven, and was taken in by Hopper. Now, it’s a year later, and the three of them are a happy family. She just got her first job, where she works alongside Steve “The Hair” Harrington… who her father doesn’t much like.
Warnings: Swearing
Word Count: 1,318
Notes: sorry this is kinda short, i’m really sick but i needed to get some creativity out tonight, ya dig?
prologue / one
The next day, you, Steve, and Robin took turns manning the counter. While Robin was in the front, you and Steve didn’t speak to each other. In fact, he altogether ignored your existence. After you told him your story, you told him that you had to get home to Hopper, and Steve didn’t say another word.
You were confused. A little hurt, too. You were finally making friends with someone who could begin to understand you, and it was all for naught.
“Is, uh, is he here?” You were brought out of your thoughts from a voice out front, which made Steve perk up.
“Is… who here?” Robin’s voice answered.
Steve jumped up and and slammed the door open to the front. “Henderson!” He exclaimed. You opened the window just in time to see Steve do a little jump and yell, “Henderson! He’s back, he’s back!” as the middle schooler in front of him laughed gleefully.
“I’m back! You got the job!”
“I got the job!” Steve whooped, followed by his (hopefully not) best imitation of a trumpet. He and the kid then did a sort of handshake with each other, complete with lightsabers and Steve getting stabbed by one.
“How many children are you friends with?” Robin asked dryly.
Steve just sighed and put his hat on the counter. “I’m going on my break. Come on dude!”
Right as they were going to turn away, the kid turned back around. “Banana boat please! Oh, hey! It’s El’s sister! Hi El’s sister!” He said, waving to you. You awkwardly smiled and waved back, still leaning through the window.
Robin made the ice cream as quickly as she could, handed it to Steve, and ushered the two of them away. She then turned to face you, leaning back onto the counter. “God, can they be any dorkier?”
You shrugged. “They seem to have fun.” Robin rolled her eyes and turned back to the counter, where an eager Erica Sinclair was waiting with her friends. So, you went into the bathroom in the back for a breather. You sat on the cold linoleum floor of the bathroom, ignoring all the germs that you knew were down there with you. You weren’t used to being in the real world yet. You were still getting used to talking to people without them barking orders at you. In the lab, your mind was fuzzy 24/7.
You exited after a few minutes and saw Steve and the kid, whose name you quickly learned was Dustin--that’s right, he was there when Hopper rescued you--in the back room. Dustin was playing and replaying a tape, and Steve was pacing nervously.
“What are you guys doing?” You asked.
“It sounded familiar. The music right there, at the end.” Steve ignored you. Of course.
“Why are you listening to the music, Steve?! Listen to the Russian! We’re translating Russian!” Dustin turned to you. “We’re translating Russian.”
Steve nudged Dustin’s shoulder, his back to you, and very clearly whispered, “Why did you tell her? She can’t help.”
You stood up a little straighter. “I want to help.”
Dustin grinned and picked up the tape. “Do you know Russian, El’s Sister?”
“Jesus, her name is (Y/N).”
“Okay, (Y/N). Do you know Russian?”
“I… I can.”
“Alright, babysitting time is over. You need to get in there,” Robin huffed, swinging the door open. She stopped when she saw her whiteboard, which was now covered in a Russian-to-English alphabet key. “Hey, my board! That was important data, shitbirds!”
“I guarantee you, what we’re doing is way more important than your data.” Dustin replied.
“Yeah, and how do you know these Russians are up to no good anyway?”
Dustin looked baffled. “Great, does everyone know about the Russians?!”
“You are both extremely loud. You think you have evil Russians plotting against our country, on tape, and you’re trying to translate, but haven’t figured out a word because you didn’t realize the Russians use an entirely different alphabet. Sound about right?” There was a pause.
“I want to help.” You repeated. “Play it again.”
“Also, it’s your turn to sling ice cream, dingus.” Robin said, handing Steve the scoop. He sighed and headed out the front door.
“Okay, you know Russian, (Y/N)?” Dustin asked.
“I can. Tell me to translate it.”
“Huh?”
“Tell me to translate it.”
“Okay… can you translate this?”
“No, like… like tell me to.”
“Dude, what are you into?!” Robin chuckled.
“Okay! Translate this, (Y/N).” Dustin hit play on the tape.
Your mind went fuzzy. When the tape was over, you automatically said, “Nedelya dlinnaya. Serebryanyy kot pitayetsya, kogda siniy tsvet vstrechayetsya s zheltym na zapade.”
“Oh, shit.” Robin said, leaning forward in her chair towards you. “Where did you learn that?”
You didn’t respond. You didn’t even hear her. “The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west.” There. Your mind was clear.
---
That night, when you were closing up the shop, Robin told Steve of your findings.
“I mean, it just… it just can’t be right,” Steve said, pulling down the gate in front of Scoops Ahoy.
“It’s right.” You grumbled.
“Honestly, I think this is great news.” Dustin said.
“How is this great news? I mean, so much for being American heroes. It’s total nonsense.” Steve said, catching up with you guys all headed for the parking lot. Robin had, thankfully, agreed to give you another ride home.
“It’s not nonsense.” Dustin protested. “It’s too specific. It’s obviously a code.”
“What do you mean, a code?” Steve asked.
“Like a super secret spy code.” You laughed at your own answer, making Steve scowl.
“And how do we know her translation is right? I mean, did we even check it with a dictionary or anything?”
“Steve, she’s right. She broke it down for us and everything.” Robin pointed out. “Listen, just for kicks, let’s entertain the possibility that it is a secret Russian transmission. What’d you think they were gonna say, ‘Fire the warhead at noon’?”
“‘The silver cat feeds.’ Why would anyone talk like that unless they’re trying to mask the true meaning of their message?” You said.
“Exactly. And why would anyone want to mask the true meaning of their message unless the message was somehow sensitive?” You and Robin were bouncing off each other at this point, and Steve was just scowling every time you opened your mouth.
“Exactly. Evil Russians. So… how do we crack it?” Dustin asked.
Robin knew the answer to this one. “Translate the rest, and hopefully we find a pattern.”
“Maybe ‘silver cat’ is a meeting place. Or a person. Or a weapon!” You added. You turned, seeing that Steve wasn’t with you guys anymore. “Where’s Steve?”
You three looked around to see Steve rapidly fumbling for spare change in his wallet in front of a single-ride mechanical pony. “Steve, what are you doing?” Robin asked.
“Uh, it’s a quarter. I need- do you have a quarter?”
Robin chuckled and said, “You sure you’re tall enough for that ride?” as the three of you jogged over.
“Give me a quarter!” Steve demanded. Fuzzy brain. You reached into your pocket and pulled out a quarter, holding it out for Steve before the other two even had time to register his words. Steve grabbed the quarter and put it into the machine. The horse started going, and a song played. Immediately you recognized it.
“Holy shit.” Dustin whispered. “The music.” He went into his bag and pulled out the recorder. “The music!” He hit play, and you all listened to the track in the background of the Russian words match up to the horse in front of you.
“Maybe they have horses like this in Russia?” Robin asked.
Steve pointed to the name of the horse. “Indiana Flyer? I don’t… I don’t think so. This code, it… didn’t come from Russia. It came from here.”
Summary: (Y/N), also known as Nine, was a girl being experimented on all her life by the Hawkins Lab, conditioned into following every command her brain heard. She managed to escape the lab, with the help of her little sister Eleven, and was taken in by Hopper. Now, it’s a year later, and the three of them are a happy family. She just got her first job, where she works alongside Steve “The Hair” Harrington… who her father doesn’t much like.
Warnings: Swearing
Word Count: 1,570
Notes: Part one! Here we gooo!
prologue
“Bye Hopper!” You called, giving the old grump sitting in his Lazy Boy a kiss on the top of his head.
“Bye, Kid. Be safe.”
“You know I always am. And please, don’t spy on them all day.” You said, referring to El and Mike, alone in the bedroom the two of you shared.
“Eh. No guarantees. Have a good first day.”
“Thanks.” And, with that, you were out of the house. You didn’t know how to drive yet, so you had to leave extra early to be able to walk all the way to the Starcourt Mall, where you’d be on your feet for a couple more hours, before walking home again.
This was your first day at the ice cream place, and you were psyched to say the least. Your uniform was in your bag so you could change there--no way in hell you were walking over wearing it, listening to your Walkman and excited beyond words to start being a normal teenager.
When you got to Scoops Ahoy, you walked up to the girl who had previously met when your boss interviewed you. Her name was Robin, and she greeted you with a kind smile.
“Hey (Y/N)! First day, right?” You just nodded, still not super comfortable with human interactions yet… even though you were about to work in customer service. “Well, I should introduce you to our shift partner, Lord Himbo himself, Mr. Steve Harrington.”
The shudders behind her opened, revealing a guy with very… tall hair. He had on a wide smile, which dropped when he saw your face. He replaced it quickly, though, and Robin didn’t even seem to notice. You for sure did, though.
“Hi there. Steve Harrington.”
“I’m (Y/N).” You said quietly. You held up your bag with the uniform in it and asked, “Is there a…”
“Yeah, there are bathrooms in the back,” Robin replied. You thanked her, went, and got changed.
And your shift had begun. Honestly, it was pretty easy. Robin and Steve worked like a well-oiled machine, you could pretty much sit back, watch, and take notes in your mind.
When your shift was almost over, you and Robin were at the counter together, making awkward small talk, when a boy with dark hair came up and rang the bell repeatedly, continuing after you had acknowledged his presence. He looked familiar, you just couldn’t place the face.
Robin sighed. “Hey, Dingus! Your children are here!”
Steve opened the back window. “Again? Seriously?” The boy said nothing, and just hit the bell again. “Alright, come on. Don’t let people see you.” Steve said, ushering them into the back.
“Hey! Mike!” You said cheerfully, smiling at him. He just looked at you and gave an awkward smile.
“Steve sometimes likes to use his privileges here to help his friends that are like eighth graders for some reason.”
“Yeah… that’s my little sister’s boyfriend.”
And things were back to normal, until the lights flickered and went out a few minutes later. You jumped slightly, remembering all the times lights flickering were associated with otherworldly things. You had to remind yourself now, that these lights were just lights.
“That’s weird.” Steve mumbled. He went and flicked the light switch, but nothing happened.
Robin crossed her arms. “That isn’t gonna work, Dingus.”
“Oh really?” Steve asked, before flicking the light as fast as he could.
“I don’t think they’re turning back on.” You whispered, hugging your arms to yourself.
Steve groaned and put his hands on his hips, assessing the situation. “Alright. You guys can go home, if you want. Shifts are almost over, I can cover until we close.”
“Hey, thanks, doof.” Robin said. You nodded in agreement and went into the bathroom to change with Robin. “So, how was your first day?”
“Good.”
“You’re not much of a talker, are you?”
You shrugged. “I talk when I want.”
“Do you want a ride home? If all the lights are out, it’s gonna be a difficult walk.”
You shook your head. “That’s alright.”
Robin laughed. “Nah, come on. Let me give you a ride home.”
Your brain went fuzzy, as it did whenever you heard a command. You couldn’t think or do anything, and you heard the words “Okay, thank you,” come out of your mouth.
When you two finished changing, you bid Steve farewell, and Robin drove you home. It was a nice drive. She mostly talked about the mall: what to expect from the job, how to read different customers, the works. When she dropped you off, she made a joke about you living in the middle of nowhere. You did your best to laugh.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“Don’t mention it.” Okay, you wouldn’t. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
---
The next day was the same. You walked to work, changed, and tried your best to help out. Steve tried flirting with different customers, but the uniform, along with the cocky personality, set him back far too much.
Just as another pretty girl walked away, giggling to her friend, Robin opened the back window and slid a whiteboard into view. You walked over from the corner to see what it said. It was a T-chart, with “YOU RULE” with an empty column under it, and “YOU SUCK” with five tally marks.
“And another one bites the dust,” Robin said, drawing another tally mark. Steve just scoffed. “You are oh-for-six, Popeye.”
“Yeah, yeah, I can count.” Steve retaliated.
“You know that means you suck.” You said, laughing.
Steve glared at you. Robin laughed. “Exactly!”
“Yeah, I can read too!” He huffed.
Robin put the whiteboard away. “Since when?”
“It’s this stupid hat. I’m telling you, it’s totally blowing my best feature.”
You paused. “Which is…?”
“My hair!”
“Yeah, company policy is a real drag.” Robin said, leaning through the window. You moved to stand next to Steve, so you were all around the window. How cute. “You know, it’s a crazy idea, but have you considered telling the truth?”
“Oh, you mean that I couldn’t even get into Tech and my douchebag dad’s trying to teach me a lesson, I make three bucks an hour, and I have no future? Hm? That truth?
“People don’t always like the truth.” You said, knowing from your stupid curse.
“Ah, shut up.” Steve groaned. Damn it. You hated it when people said that, because you couldn’t talk until they left, or until you were told another command. El used this tactic whenever the two of you would fight, since she couldn’t really leave, you couldn’t talk.
“Hey, twelve o’clock.” Robin said, pointing behind the two of you. You looked behind you, at the cash register, and a group of pretty girls were walking up.
“Oh shit. Oh shit. Okay, uh… I’m going in. And you know what?” Steve took off his hat and threw it at Robin. “Screw company policy.”
“My god, you’re a whole new man.” Robin said sarcastically. You quickly went and joined Robin in the back, watching Steve with her.
“Ahoy ladies!” Steve yelled, making the girl in front yelp. “Didn’t see you there! Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I’ll be your captain. I’m Steve Harrington.” The girls laughed nervously. You and Robin just watched in awe. “Can I get you guys a little taste of the Cherries Jubilee? No? Anybody? Banana Boat? Four people, four spoons? Share it in the booth? Anybody? It’s hot out there!”
Robin rolled her eyes and added a seventh tally to the board.
The girls just laughed and walked away. Steve groaned, running his hands over his face. “Damn it!” He said, joining the two of you in the back. “What’s wrong with me?” He asked, looking at you.
Robin laughed. “Yeah, (Y/N), tell him what’s wrong with him.”
Your brain went fuzzy and you heard yourself say, “You hold yourself to a standard you can’t meet.”
Steve looked surprised and Robin snickered. “Shit, too real.” Her head perked up when she heard the bell being rung by a customer. “Be right back, guys.” She left the two of you back there, alone for the first time.
“Sorry.” You said.
“Nah, nah. I did ask. I’m just… Where do I know you from? Did you go to Hawkins High?” You shook your head. “Do you have a sibling at the middle school? I might have seen you.”
“No. Do you?”
“Well, no, but I have a friend who goes there. I don’t know, maybe I might have seen you while dropping him off.”
“My little sister’s dating Mike Wheeler.” You said, remembering that Steve took Mike into the back room the previous day.
“Mike’s girlfriend… El. Wait, El?! Your sister is Eleven?!” You nodded. “That’d make you one of the-”
Robin opened the window. “Hey, dingus, there’s a girl here who you might have a shot with.” You looked up and saw a girl walking in. Oh, you understood the joke. She’s in middle school.
“Ha ha. Very funny.” Steve said, rolling his eyes. Robin shrugged and closed the window. There was a long pause. “Are you?” He asked quietly. You held out your wrist reluctantly. “009.” Steve read to himself. “Fuck. You got out?” You nodded. He let out a breathy laugh. “Shit. Well then,” he said, drawing up two chairs to the little table back there. “Tell me your story.”
Summary: (Y/N), also known as Nine, was a girl being experimented on all her life by the Hawkins Lab, conditioned into following every command her brain heard. She managed to escape the lab, with the help of her little sister Eleven, and was taken in by Hopper. Now, it’s a year later, and the three of them are a happy family. She just got her first job, where she works alongside Steve “The Hair” Harrington… who her father doesn’t much like.
Warnings: Swearing, violence
Word Count: 1,356
Notes: This is the “Lot of Livin’ To Do” redo! Even if you read that prologue, please read this one as well, since I nearly doubled it in length!
“I thought you forgot about me!” You sobbed, your face pale.
He held your head up, his eyes wild. “Never, Kiddo. Believe me, I would never.”
You clenched your hand around your open wound on your stomach, crying both tears of pain and happiness that you had been found.
“Shit, we gotta go, like, now.” He said, covering one of his own hands around your wound, trying to apply pressure and stop the never-ending bleeding while trying not to hurt you still.
“What?!” You cried, your breaths heavy. “N-No! They- Them! They’re still out there! And- and, and I wanna...” You dissolved into heavy sobs in his shoulder, and he held you tight against him, knowing that, in this second, he could protect you.
“Ssh... Kid, listen. El got them. They’re dead. But I promised her that when I found you, I’d take you straight to her for help. And... and I’ve found you.”
He hoisted you to your feet, and you almost collapsed instantly. “Shit.” He mumbled a quick, “C’mon, Kid. Up we go,” while picking you up in his arms.
“Thank you Hopper.” You whispered.
He huffed. “Don’t mention it.”
“Can you… tell me a story?” You asked, your head spinning from the amount of blood that had escaped.
He sighed. “Once upon a time, there was a guy. And a girl.” At this point he was more carrying you than helping you walk. “They went to high school together. They used to meet under the bleachers, in the stairwell, wherever they could.” Your breaths were sharp and ragged. “They smoked together. And one day… Joyce-”
He looked down, and your eyes were closed. “Fuck. Kid!” He said, shaking you in his arms. When you stirred, but didn’t wake or open your eyes, he broke into a sprint down the hall.
“Someone! Anyone! Help!” He yelled.
Mike and Lucas skidded down the hall. “Hopper!” Lucas yelled. They ran to each other, and the two young boys quickly spun around to match the direction that Hopper was running in with you.
“We need to find someone.” Hopper said, his breathing ragged.
Mike cursed. “Mrs. Byers is down the hall, but she still hasn’t found anyone.”
“El!” Lucas yelled. The young girl turning the corner.
“Stop!” She yelled, halting all of you in an intersection of corridors. “Put her down.” she said, pointing at your body.
Hopper set you down on the cold linoleum floor. He watched as your chest rose and fell shallowly, one arm loosely draped over your own face.
The crimson stain of your shirt was growing ever larger, and it almost made Hopper’s stomach queasy.
Eleven closed her eyes and gripped one of your hands in her own.
“Mike, take off her shirt.” She said, turning her head toward Mike, but keeping her eyes closed.
Mike’s face turned bright red. Lucas awkwardly coughed and looked away as Mike lifted your shirt, revealing the most horrible gash in your skin that Hopper had ever seen. And he was in the police force.
He watched quietly as Eleven kept your hand in one of hers, and placed her other hand lightly on the injury. And although you weren’t conscious, your body contracted in pain when El’s small fingers touched it.
There were footsteps down the hall as Joyce came from one hallway, followed by Nancy and Jonathan.
Everyone now was gathered around you and Eleven as the cut noticeably faded. The blood that had escaped your body already had stayed, though, keeping your skin shiny and your shirt damp. She moved her hand from your injury to putting two fingers on your forehead.
The absence of El’s hand showed your stomach had completely healed. Hopper, at the sight of this, let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
El’s hand started shaking, and it stopped as your eyes flew open.
“Fuck.” You mumbled, your wild eyes looking around at everyone. You reached your hands out, silently asking someone to help you sit up a little. Dustin and Lucas rushed forward, helping you lean up against a nearby wall.
Your body shook with sobs. El sat down next to you and silently rested her head on your shoulder. You took your hand in hers. You looked down at her, smiling through the tears coursing down your cheeks. “Thank you, Eleven.”
“Son of a bitch, I know who you are!“
“Dustin, language.” Joyce mumbled, making everyone laugh through their blurred eyes.
“Sorry! It’s… it’s just… I didn’t know there were more.”
“Of course there are. She’s number eleven, you dumbass. That means there’s at least ten more.” Mike said, hitting Dustin upside his head.
Hopper and El helped you to your feet. “I’ll take her home with me so El can watch over her. I’m sure she’ll be happy to have her sister back.” He looked to Eleven, who smiled in agreement.
Joyce smiled and nodded. “I think that’s a great idea, Jim.”
Hopper huffed and nodded, and he and Eleven helped walk you down the hall, towards the exit.
You looked down at your wrist at the small “9” imprinted into your skin. You were scared beyond your wits, but insanely excited to see real sunlight for the first time. You were going to be a normal seventeen year-old.
-----
Since you had left the lab, you been living with Hopper and Eleven. He had a nice home, a little cabin deep in the woods. You had agreed with both of them that until you all knew it was safe, you and El were not to leave the house without Hopper.
Which meant you almost never left the house.
From one prison to another.
You and El shared a room, but she soon grew restless. Soon enough, she was requesting your help every night to check up on Mike and his friends to see how they were doing. Now, you didn’t know these kids. They had only seen you once, when you were being rescued from Hawkins Lab, and since then Hopper had disallowed any contact with them.
When El ran away, and Hopper had to leave to help Ms. Byers and her son again, you wanted nothing more than to leave too. You had the chance, too! No one was home, and you could set out to have your own adventure, and come back before Hopper even knew.
Unfortunately, Hopper had told you the four words you wished he hadn’t.
“Don’t leave the cabin.”
So you couldn’t.
See, Eleven was tortured into having telekinetic powers. You had heard whispers through the lab of another kid being “conditioned” into being able to create illusions in the eyes of others. Your brain was altered to obey every command it heard. Yup, you were a regular ole Ella Enchanted.
So you didn’t leave the cabin. Yup, you were stuck there, bored out of your mind. You cleaned up the glass that had gotten everywhere from El’s little outburst. You rearranged all the furniture. The tv was broken, so you couldn’t even watch the news… you were cut off, isolated once again.
And then, Hopper came back. They tried to act as though they had never left. Hopper fixed the television, repaired the windows, and for Christmas, he adopted the two of you. Turns out, Eleven found out who you two really were, outside of the lab. Her name was Jane, and yours (Y/N).
She still went by El though.
You helped her get ready for the Snow Ball, which you begged Hopper to let you go to, until you found out it was for middle schoolers. You asked him what middle school was, and he explained the American public school system.
You hated it.
He also told you you’d have to jump in, head-first into your senior year of high school. You didn’t understand why, you had an education back at the Lab, but Hopper insisted. He forged school records, showing fake grades for fake courses so you could still graduate with everyone else. He wanted you to live like a normal seventeen year-old, even if it was just for one year.
Which meant you needed to enjoy your summer before high school.
Hey guys! So I'm changing Lot of Livin' To Do a bit! Nothing much, but I rewrote the prologue and decided upon a better name for it. I'll be posting the prologue again shortly (which has now doubled in length) so please take a look! I love you all!
