Chapter 10:
Mike hated being separated from Eleven. He had been alone in that basement for a long time, and yet, somehow, he suddenly felt very lonely at night down there by himself. Not to mention that he was constantly worried about her, for her. What was he supposed to do if Brenner showed up at Wills and they needed help? He doubted he could get there in time.
He knew he had to figure something else out, but first, he had to take care of Troy. They had been attending the same schools for a long time, and Mike knew exactly where he could corner Troy. Outside, on the side of the building farthest from the parking lot, is where Troy and his friends always snuck out during lunch to smoke.
The moment that Troy stepped around that corner, the next day, Mike grabbed him by the collar and threw him back against the bricks, holding him there forcefully.
"Let's talk, Troy," he said. The slightly smaller boy tried to jerk away, but Mike held him firmly. "You're going to leave me and my friends alone. From now on."
"Or what?" Troy hissed. Mike didnt bother with words. Apparently words werent enough to keep Troy at bay anymore. Mike took a small, quick step back, then threw a punch directly into Troy's jaw. Troy groaned and tried to slump over, but Mike kept him pinned against the wall.
"I'm not messing around anymore, Troy. Im so serious. You're going to leave them alone, or I'm goinf to beat your ass every single time they tell me you bothered them. Any of them."
"That freak broke my arm," Troy spat, shoving Mike back a little, prying his back from the brick. "It still doesnt feel right!"
"I dont care about your arm, Troy," Mike rolled his eyes. "She did what she had to do to protect us. You had a knife. You had it coming." Troy was seething, panting heavily from their encounter. He turned away from Mike with a scowl on his face.
"If you want to protect that... thing... fine. I won't do anything." Troy was smart enough to know when he was beaten. Mike was a little taller, a little leaner, and Dustin was much bigger than Troy. Lucas and Will were the ones Troy targeted because they were the same size or smaller than him.
"You'll leave Will alone, too," Mike pushed. "If I see another bruise on him, I'm going to ruin you. Do you understand?" Troy said nothing, so Mile hit him again, not caring if anyone saw or if he got in trouble because of it. "Dont be stupid, Troy."
"Yeah," Troy breathed, grabbed his aching jaw. "I got it." Mike shoved off of him, straightened his brown leather jacket, then turned to head back inside. Troy stayed there, leaning against the wall for a moment, wishing he had just graduated when he was supposed to instead of failing a grade. Then, he would have been far away from the school and that monster Mike was so infatuated with.
Hopper had never appreciated quiet days more than he did in the seven years that followed the incident with the monster and the lab. Before then, he didnt enjoy the silence, the small, insignificant daily calls and complaints.
He'd reassigned his officers from before and hired new, capable deputies. They handled most complaints on their own, and handled them well. He could count on deputies Hammond and Grant. Hopper was able to sit at his desk most days, leisurely handling paperwork.
The moment that he saw Brenner step into his office, Hopper longed for a quiet, uneventful day. Brenner closed his office door, then lowered the blinds.
"What're you doing here?" Hopper demanded, standing up with muscles tense. Brenner stood there, in all his arrogant confidence, looking at Hopper as if Hopper was some pawn he could use whenever he pleased. Hopper didnt like that look.
"Eleven is missing. She's escaped, and I can imagine you may know where she has gone," Brenner said calmly, pulling out the chair across the desk and sitting. "Now, I need you to tell me where I can find her. If you retrieve her yourself, I won't have to use force on children."
"What makes you think she's with one of the kids?"
"Because in all these years, she never stopped asking to see Michael Wheeler." Brenner tapped his fingers against his knee in annoyance, aggravation, as if just saying the boy's name enraged him for some reason. "You know how young girls can be. They become infatuated with things so easily." Hopper said nothing and just stared at the white haired man across from him.
Brenner shifted in his seat. "You must retrieve her, Sheriff, or we will."
"You're not going anywhere near those kids," Hopper said sternly, his eyebrows furrowed. "If I so much as hear a complaint about a vehicle parked outside, you will regret the moment you crawled out of that lab of yours." Hopper stood then, hands planted on his desk. "I'll find the girl. You stay out of it, Brenner."
"Well, if we're on the same page, there isn't any need for threats." Brenner stood, too, unphased by Hopper's words. He fixed his jacket, then headed out of the door. Hopper waited until he disappeared entirely before he sat back in his chair. He let out a sigh, then picked up the phone beside him and dialed Joyce's number. Will would know if Mike had been up to no good.
Eleven chewed on her bottomlip gently as she waited by Mike's car with Will. Her first day back to school had gone smoothly, and the mouthbreather had left her and Will alone all day. She was happy, and she was able to paint in Will's art class that say.
After school, Will told her that Mike had asked him to bring her to the car. Will was planning to ride home with Lucas, since he was staying over for the weekend. Mike and Dustin were planning to join them Saturday night, and Eleven would likely go, too. Lucas' parents were gone until Monday.
Finally, Mike got to his car, thanked Will, then packed up to go home. After saying goodbye to Will as well, Eleven slipped into the passengers seat and closed the door.
She expected him to drive her right to his house, but instead, he chose a secluded spot in the woods, hidden from the road by trees. He sat back, then pulled the keys from the ignition.
"I've been coming here for a few years now. By myself at first, then with Lilly." He looked over at her and smiled. "Its quiet and secret, and I can think clearly out here." Eleven just looked at, going over the words he said twice to make sure she understood them all.
"Eleven, I have a few questions. Do you mind answering them?" He asked her gently, and while she trusted him completely, those words always brought her anxiety. Doctors and men in white coats had asked her to answer so many questions in the past, questions that made her uneasy.
"Okay."
"Do you trust me?" He needed to know just how much faith she had in him. Eleven nodded her reply, eyes searching his desperately. "I called Nancy last night. I told her everything, and she wants to help. She offered to help us disguise you a little. So... you'll dress up kind of like you did before."
"They will notice... at school..."
"They'll think you dyed your hair or something. It's okay if they realize because they dont know you as Eleven. You're someone else to them." He reached over to take her hand. "Eleven, will you tell me what they do to you in there?" Mike never asked questions as a child because the details hardly mattered to him. She was a girl and needed his help, so he helped her. Now, as a man, Mike needed to know so he could help her better than he did before.
"In... there..." She dropped her gaze to her lap. It was hard enough to find the right words on a daily basis, but to find the ones to explain everything she'd been through in five years seemed impossible. "They like tests. We do... so many tests."
"What kind of tests?"
"On me," she answered. Eleven lifted her hand to her head. "In here." They pushed her abilities constantly, used them for personal gain. She was an instrument to them.
"Do you know if they are involved in the government?" She recognized that word. Papa had used it before to explain something to her.
"No. The gov..ernment," she said slowly to sound out the syllables, "it was angry at Papa." Her head hurt just having to search through her memory so dilligently. It was tedious. "It wont help him anymore."
"Thats good," Mike smiled, running his fingers through her hair. "Thats good, El. It means he's working alone. The government wont help him cover things up anymore." He noticed the strain in her eyes so he decided to save the rest of his questions for later. "You did good, El."
"I did?"
"Yes," he chuckled. Mike leaned over, close to her, and Eleven closed her eyes as Mike kissed her lips gently. He leaned back for a bried moment, then buried a hand in her hair and kissed her again, a little harder, a little hungrier than before. Eleven gripped the edge of her seat with onr hand, then held onto his arm with the other. Kissing wasn't something she knew how to do very well, but it seemed to go smoothly, naturally, with Mike.
After a moment, Mike's whole body was leaned over the center console. Eleven was pushed back against the door, not that she noticed it much. All she could think about was the way his mouth moved against hers, and the faint taste of spearmint on his tongue that explored hers so intimately.
His hand eventually wandered down to her thigh, gripping it tightly in his large hand. Eleven gasped a little, and Mike pulled back to look her in the eyes. His grip immediately loosened.
"Did I hurt you?" He asked softly, guilt in his eyes already.
"No," she shook her head. "I'm okay." Mike nodded, then kissed her again, once more, before sitting back in his seat. He leaned back and closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry, El. It's harder than I thought it'd be to take things slow." Mike had been with two girls before Eleven returned. One he slept with, dated for a week, then agreed to part ways with after she insisted that she wasn't in the mood to be in a relationship.
The second was Lilly.
Mike was a teenage boy who had desires like every teenage boy. As much as he prided himself of being different than the skirt chasers at his school, with Eleven, he was so damn eager to know what she felt like. She was a mystery to him in so many ways, a secret he wanted to unlock in every way possible.
At the same time, it felt wrong. She was still so naive, so child-like, that it felt incredibly odd for him to push those boundaries. Then again, she was a woman now, built like a woman, with feminine curves and smooth, silky skin. Mike was struggling a bit with the part of himself that wanted her so bad that he laid awake at night thinking about her. That desire was overwhelming the part of him that knew it was wrong.
"Don't say sorry," she frowned a him. "I don't want you to be sorry." Mike stared at her for a moment. She was trying so hard to catch up to her peers in every way she could. It was obvious that she wanted to feel like a woman, not be treated like a child forever. Still, one step at a time, Mike reminded himself.
"Do you want to walk through the woods a little? Its pretty this time of year."
"Okay," she nodded, smiling a little now. "A walk sounds fun."
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter :) i worked a lot this week, then had a migraine for a solid few days which was awful but I shouldnt have waited so long to update. Im going to be updating all my active stories in the next couple of days while Im off! So i look forward to your feedback :) sorry again for the wait.
Also, I know theyre taking things much slower this time around, but its because i want this story to be different than the other in a lot of ways :) that way it doesnt feel repetitive. But I'll giveyou guys all the smut and fluff you want in time, I promise :) thanks for sticking through with me, yall are awesome!