CX
Both the nightmare itself and the wetness she perceives on her face and back interrupt her sleep.
Slowly, she straightens up until she's sitting on the mattress that serves as her bed. It's before dawn—she knows this because the moonlight still fills Max's room.
"El?" her friend calls, voice hoarse from sleep. "What's wrong? I thought I heard you talking…"
She must have woken her up by accident. She wants to tell her not to worry, to go back to bed, but…
"I'm scared." The admission leaves her lips in a whisper. This seems to wake her friend up completely.
"El… What are you scared of?" Max asks softly, looking at her from above the bed.
"I don't know, I…" Her voice sounds breathless. "I want… I don't know…"
However, Max is the kind of friend who doesn't need to be told. "Do you want to talk to him?"
Eleven closes her eyes. "I'm… scared," she repeats.
A pause. Max purses her lips. Finally, she smiles: "I have an idea."
Henry.
Eleven's voice drags him out of sleep. He straightens up instantly and brings a hand to his chest, where his restless heart beats wildly.
Have I dreamed it?, he asks himself. Or has she really called him?
Henry.
Her voice, once again. It definitely wasn't a dream. He presses a hand to his forehead as he leaves the bed and goes to turn on the light in his room.
Eleven. What's wrong?
I can't sleep…
This surprises him. He lets out a sigh.
Did you have a bad dream?
No… Well, yes… But… It's just… Can I see you?
He does not hesitate to answer: Of course.
He turns off the lights again and goes to sit on his bed with his legs crossed. He closes his eyes.
And he lets her in.
They are in the void, in total darkness. At their feet, black waters reflect flashes of light whose origin they cannot place.
That they have never been able to place.
However, what Henry does notice is that, instead of absolute silence, he hears a woman's voice. It's a song he's never heard before.
It doesn't hurt me
Do you wanna feel how it feels?
Do you wanna know, know that it doesn't hurt me?
Do you wanna hear about the deal that I'm making?
"I'm sorry." Eleven's voice is heard above the woman's. "I was scared and… And Max said her favorite song would help. I've been listening to it for some time now."
Henry sees her, then. On the other side of the dark lake, dressed in a white nightgown that seems ethereal surrounded by darkness.
"Eleven."
You
It's you and me
The first thing she notices is that Henry is only wearing gray cotton pants; his torso remains naked. She instinctively looks away, feeling like she shouldn't be seeing him… like this.
And if I only could
I'd make a deal with God
"Sorry," she apologizes. "I… woke you and… I didn't even give you time to get dressed…"
And I'd get him to swap our places
She listens to Henry's soft laugh and the sound of the water's surface breaking with his every step.
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
Be running up that building
Every step he takes in her direction.
Say, if I only could, oh…
"Don't act like it's something indecent either: you've seen me naked, haven't you?" he tells her when he finally finds himself in front of her.
You don't wanna hurt me
But see how deep the bullet lies
Unaware, I'm tearing you asunder
Oh, there is thunder in our hearts
Eleven turns her head abruptly to look at him and, although she opens her mouth in clear protest, she ends up stopping: she must have seen his smile.
She must have realized that he is just joking in the hope of helping her relax a little.
The girl sighs and shakes her head.
"I just… wanted to see you. So much."
Her admission is weak, yet Henry hears her, she's sure of it: there is no way for it to escape him on this psychic plane.
Is there so much hate for the ones we love?
Oh, tell me, we both matter, don't we?
She also knows this to be true because of the way his smile turns into a real one, and such a deep affection shines in his eyes—because that's what it is, yes, of course it is—that she wonders, now, how she could have thought it to be reserved only for his spiders.
And not for her.
"Is that so?" he finally says, bringing his hand closer to her cheek; Eleven closes her eyes and lets herself be carried away by the feeling of his fingers against her skin. "Why is that?"
She considers leaving his question unanswered, but realizes she doesn't want to remain silent. "I always want to see you."
As soon as the words leave her lips, she knows it to be true.
The pain in his chest is unexpected: an unusual tugging, strangely tied to Eleven's words.
You
It's you and me
It's you and me, won't be unhappy
Probably because of his silence, Eleven opens her eyes and looks at him again.
"What?" she asks while placing a hand on his with what seems to be the intention of keeping it there.
"You're being… surprisingly honest."
"I don't lie to you…" she replies.
No, Henry knows that she never lies to him. What's more: neither of them lies, but sometimes they hide things from each other. And it's usually to protect the other.
That's why he knows Eleven won't tell him the real reason she wanted to see him—that she will hide that one truth behind honest words like the ones she has just spoken.
'Are you on my side, Henry? Will you always be?'
And if I only could
I'd make a deal with God
And I'd get him to swap our places
It was stupid of her to wake him up in the middle of the night and then choose to remain quiet.
And yet, she doesn't feel like she can ask him: she senses the answer she will receive, yes, but will it be the truth? After all, not even Mike, who claims to love her, has managed to do this… And is she going to ask it of Henry?
As if responding to his internal debate, Henry gently removes his hand from hers.
Eleven internally regrets the loss of contact, but lets it go.
"Do you want me to go pick you up from Max's?" he offers, his hands now stuck in his pants pockets.
Judging by the surprise he sees in her eyes, he realizes that she was not expecting that offer.
"It's three in the morning…"
Henry raises an eyebrow with every intention of making it clear that her comment is beside the point. "If you ask me to, I will go."
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
Be running up that building
Say, if I only could, oh
There is something in his eyes, in the way he enunciates the words, in his entire being that…
It's you and me
It's you and me, won't be unhappy
But no.
No, El, no.
She can't just see whatever she wants. She can't let herself be fooled, much less fool herself.
Indeed, it was stupid of her to wake him up in the middle of the night.
She offers him a shy smile that she doesn't feel.
"I'm fine, Henry. See you tomorrow…"
He crosses his arms at her abrupt goodbye. Eleven suppresses a sigh and prepares to assure him once again that she's fine—really, she is—when Henry leans toward her.
And hugs her.
This close, there are few things she can hide from him: her scent like mint and sunlight, the chance smell of tears threatening to come to the surface, and the sound of her heartbeat against his chest…
He feels her tremble. And he also feels her confusion, her hopelessness…
Her pain.
Oh, come on, baby
Oh, come on, darling
Let me steal this moment from you now
She is so very small in his arms, a tiny little thing that no one would think possesses the strength she actually has.
That no one would think possesses the huge heart she actually has.
"I don't know what's going on," he whispers in her ear while resting one of his hands on her back; she shudders as soon as he does it. "I don't know… if something happened, if you fear something will happen, if your nightmare made you doubt something…"
Doubt me, he doesn't say.
Oh, come on, angel
Come on, come on, darling
Let's exchange the experience
"But, whatever it is, I am with you."
Henry pretends not to notice the way her breathing hitches.
Pretends not to notice the soft sob muffled in Eleven's throat.
It is too unstable: her heart, her mind…
And if I only could
All of her is crashing down.
And, around her, everything begins to turn into smoke: her body, the water at her feet, the darkness itself…
I'd make a deal with God
Everything except Henry, who remains immutable, waiting patiently for her to finish disappearing, his firm arms a safe refuge in the midst of the storm that batters her heart.
And I'd get him to swap our places
She barely manages to wrap her arms around his back, hanging on to him as if her life depended on it. "Henry," she whispers against his bare torso. "Henry."
I'd be running up that road
"Sweet dreams, El," he replies softly, separating just enough to place a kiss on her forehead. "See you tomorrow."
Be running up that hill
Just like that, the question that had weighed on her all night has suddenly vanished, leaving her free of its awful weight.
With no problems
And instead, snuggled against her heart like an inconspicuous truth, Eleven finds something unexpected.