"Would you rather..." Dustin looked up from the card and glanced every person in the room before continuing. "Have super powers in a violent world, or live in a peaceful one without them?"
The boys and Eleven were playing Would You Rather, a board game Joyce had bought for Eleven, since the colorful box had caught her attention. The girl recalled the incident that had happenned that day in her mind, how she grabbed the object without asking, and almost carried it out of the store without paying. That's the day she learned about payment and money.
"Wow, that question's like, made for you El!" Lucas talked with enthusiasm; the coincidence of the situation boosted their anticipation for her answer.
"Come on man, who wouldn't want super powers? Such an easy one." Dustin seemed confident, only to be proven wrong.
"Second." she said immediately.
Sure, her powers are supportive, in times where she needed to flee from the bad people, beneficial, when she wanted to humiliate Mike's bullies, and 'neat' as the boys insisted.
But her days in the lab, the life she spent sealed in an empy room just and only to be forced into doing gruesome things...no, she didn't want that.
Her reply appeared to have upset the mood, because Dustin made a surprised grimace, Will and Lucas put their palms in front of their mouths to show their astonishment and Mike's face formed a frown, which compared to the other boys expressions, looked quite real and serious.
Their reactions affected Eleven severely. Did she give the wrong answer? She had thought the game was of free choice, not the other way around. Why did they, why did Mike, seem so disappointed?
She decided to ignore them and carry forward with the game. Maybe they were just teasing (teasing? Was that the correct word?) her.
When Eleven left the Buyers house with Will and Jonathan she didn't receive the usual smile that Mike delivered to her every time he waved goodbye. Why? What happened? Did she do something wrong?
"Wrong..." she whispered to herself.
"Did you say something, El?" Will looked at her, expecting her to talk.
"Am I wrong?" she said silently, but Will, being used to it, caught every word.
"Wrong? Of course not, El! Why would you say that?"
She gave him a slight smile, a smile like those of Mike's when he greeted her, but didn't receive today.
Mike sat silently on the couch of the basement -should he call it his room? That's where he spends most of his time for like, always-. He was holding a comic book, Green Lantern Corps, but wasn't paying any attention to it. His mind was travelling to the word Eleven had spelled a few hours ago. Second.
She preferred living in a world where she had no powers. A world with a different past. A world where she hadn't met him. A world where she lived composedly a dull life. Yes, she had lived some unforgetable memories, he was aware of that, but was it bad enough so as to draw a blank on every moment they lived together? They would never have met, and Mike couldn't even stand the idea. She introduced him to a whole new world he would never be able to approach without her joining the journey he called life.
But she was willing to throw it away, like a piece of trash, no second thoughts, no guilty looks, just a short answer, and next question.
The boy tried to focus on the book, but being unsuccesful, he sighed and let the comic out of his hands, figuring he had no need of it.
After driving Will and Eleven back to the house, Jonathan decided to take a stroll around the eerie woods, which lacked of light. After the adventure of Will's disapearance he comprehended that walking in these woods, especially at night time, was an unwritten law.
Though, the monster that was menacing their lives before was no longer alive. Behind it it abandoned an empty forest, towering, dark trees that made you realize how insignificant a single individual -like him- actually is, compared to an infinite universe.
And if there truly was a threat existing in this creepy forest, Jonathan had the experience he needed to afford being accosted by a terrifying monster. It had happened, and he could cope with that once more.
Only that tonight, there was one unsimilar thing to every other one. Nancy, his friend, who was beside him when he attempted to confront the monster previously, wasn't present. And she had no reason to, because the monster was no longer existant.
But the thought of his friend, who he in strict confidence loved, being with a person he sincerely disliked, caused his mood to be turned upside-down.
His thoughts were temporarily interrupted by a high-sounding noise of feet pressing down the dry leaves. Jonathan tiptoed behind a tree that could completely hide his shilouette, without leaving any suspicions in the background. He glanced around hastily, his fingers holding onto the thick trunk, his breathing becoming heavier and more boisterous as he heard the noise nearer every second.
He could see a tall figure now, but couldn't make out if it was human or not. Its back was touching a trunk of a tree, and he could not make out a face. Was it coming out of it? His mom had watched it emerge from a wall before, while Nancy had gotten into the Upside-Down from a hole on a tree.
Did that mean, nothing was over yet? Eleven had killed it, but obviously more than one existed.
And when Jonathan struggled to escape out of the forest, he heard a deep voice calling out to nothingness..
"Eleven."
