broken twigs and stormy skies

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

"Guys, I really think we should turn back," said Dustin, his voice ringing through the trees.

Alina followed their carrying voices, rain rattling off the hood of her raincoat and soaking her socks as she jumped over roots and rocks. Up ahead, she spotted the telltale sign of flashlight beams streaming through the trees and headed towards the source of the light. She didn't know what she would say to the boys—or how should could explain why she was in the woods—but it was nice not to be alone. Nice to listen to something other than the constant drumming of the rain.

"Seriously, Dustin?" Lucas snapped. Alina could see him now, the hood of his raincoat pulled up, walking with the others, their backs to her. They'd come out to look for Will, she figured, probably against their parents'—and police—permission. Alina was slightly baffled someone would care so much for you that they would do that. I guess that's what friends are like, she thought, as Lucas finished his snapping with "You wanna be a baby, then go home already!"

"I'm just being realistic, Lucas!" Dustin argued. He was on the left of the trio, which made the small figure in the middle Mike. Alina kept moving, heading towards them, turning off her flashlight so as to not scare them away.

"No," said Lucas, "you're just being a big sissy!"

Alina snorted a little and continued following, even as their argument escalated. Until she heard what the boys evidently did, and stopped walking, pressing herself behind a tree. The boys had stopped in a clearing a couple of meters away from her, shining their flashlights around, the beams shaking slightly from their trembling arms.

They all were hearing a rustling in the bushes, too big to be some kind of animal. The boys gasped, turning around, their flashlight beams hitting only trees, when they shouted, and Alina felt it again. It hit her so hard she almost was nauseous, and she gripped onto the tree, peering out again at the figure who'd emerged from the bushes.

The girl was now wearing a large yellow t-shirt that fit her like a dress. She was trembling, from fear or cold, Alina didn't know which, and soaking wet, as unlike the others, she didn't have a raincoat to shield her from the harsh weather. Her bare feet were muddy from walking, and she stared Mike, Dustin, and Lucas down, confusion etched on her face.

The girl from the lab looked like she'd been through hell and back, and was slowly backing up away from the boys, pressing herself against a tree. Alina slipped out from behind hers and ran to another one quietly, fearing any noise she'd make would startle her into fleeing. The sensation of her being so close and yet so far to the girl from the lab made Alina's heart ache, the answer to all of her questions just out of her reach. Again.

No wonder she had followed the boys. The tugging must've been there, quieter but still insistent, and she'd followed it, leading her right back to this girl.

Mike stepped forward. "Don't worry," he said soothingly. "We're not going to hurt you." He turned to the others. "What should we do?"

"Who is she?" Dustin voiced. "I don't think I've seen her before."

"Do any of us look psychic to you?" Lucas asked, rolling his eyes. He stepped forward, inspecting the girl's face that Alina knew so well. "Who are you?"

"I think we should take her with us," Mike said, and, when Lucas made to protest, raised his hands in defense. "I'm serious, guys. We'll get out of the rain. And maybe she'll talk to us when we're in dry clothes." He smiled kindly at her. "Do you want to come with us?"

The girl didn't say anything, simply stared at Mike, trembling. Alina had had enough with this entire thing. She began to make her way through the trees to the girl, trying to help her with a familiar face, the tugging pulling her forward even more. She was almost there when two things happened.

One, the girl looked up suddenly, her eyes meeting Alina's, her mouth opening slightly in shock, and two, Alina's foot tread on a stick, which snapped, the sound echoing like a gunshot throughout the woods.

Alina, still half-hidden by trees, was about to tell the boys it was okay, but she was a second too late. Dustin in the lead, the boys broke into a run, Mike tugging the girl along, who was going somewhat willingly, probably trusting the small boy. She did turn for a moment though, as Alina jogged through the trees, and even from a distance, the girl's big brown eyes conveyed her sadness about leaving Alina yet again.

And then she was gone, and Alina was alone in the woods, thunder crackling and lightning beginning to light up the skies.

But all wasn't hopeless, and it was so that Alina went home with a half-smile on her face. She was soaking, splattered with mud, and yet they'd found each other again, the connection within them pulsing fiercely, pulling them together. And although Alina didn't know why it kept happening, she wasn't complaining. If anything, it was making things easier to solve the mystery, for she had a new lead.

And her lead was the party she'd never expected she'd actually talk to.

Don't worry, Alina thought, as she climbed onto her rusted bike. I'm coming. I haven't given up on you yet.

As a direct contrast to the previous day, Alina woke up this morning with a purpose, her mood drastically improved by the re-discovery of the girl. She was in such a hurry to get dressed and get out the door, to speak to the boys as soon as she could, that it was several tense, frustrating seconds before she realized she was trying to put her jeans on like a shirt and her hat on as socks. Yesterday, this would've made her yell in anger, but today she just laughed and made the correct changes.

Today, she thought, she didn't look like an utter mess. She'd put her hair in a half-up, half-down hairstyle, put on the nicest shirt in her dresser (a dark blue long sleeve with nice collar) and clean jeans. She even smiled at her reflection in the mirror before heading downstairs, pouring extra food in Skywalker's bowl.

As usual, Brandon Fairgrieves was making breakfast. The good atmosphere of the morning must've spread to him, as he was humming brightly, pancakes sizzling on the pan. He'd made smiley faces with chocolate chips. He usually only made pancakes on special days.

Alina poured herself a big glass of orange juice and sat down at the table, jiggling her legs nervously, wanting to get out as soon as possible.

"What's the rush?" Brandon asked her teasingly, putting down her pancakes in front of her. Alina looked up at him and found she could actually meet his eyes today. She still didn't trust him, he'd still lied to her, but she knew, deep down, that Brandon Fairgrieves cared about her. And she couldn't help but love him.

Alina immediately began gulping down pancakes, washing them down with orange juice. "School," she said brightly, mouth full of food. "It's supposed to be a great day today."

"Slow down there," Brandon chuckled, digging into his own breakfast. "You're going to make yourself choke."

Alina didn't listen, scarfing down her pancakes at practically inhuman speed, miraculously managing not to. When she was finished, she drained her glass of orange juice and nearly tripped over Skywalker in her haste to get upstairs to brush her teeth. Brandon just chuckled at the sight of his daughter. She'd never been this excited about school before.

Even though it usually took Alina forty-five minutes to get ready, she managed to be out the door in fifteen, waving goodbye to her dad and practically flying down the road on her bike ride to Hawkins Middle. Even if the girl from the lab had left Mike, Dustin, and Lucas, they must know something, and she desperately needed to tell someone about her beside Skywalker and her notebook, which currently sat in the bottom of her backpack. Just in case.

Last night, she'd added the events that had gone down in the woods, and she was prepared to show it to them as proof, but only as a last resort. A somewhat stranger to them, she didn't want to scare the party off, and she had never really done this whole "talking to people" thing before. To be honest, they'd probably be surprised that she looked up from her comic.

But she had to try anyway.

She arrived at school twenty minutes early, with no sign of the boys. Of course, they wouldn't be here. Not yet. She would have to wait.

It was fifteen tense minutes before she finally spotted Lucas and Dustin biking up to the school, strangely unaccompanied by Mike. Alina got up immediately, beginning to sprint towards them just as they found a spot in the field to sit, talking about something or other. She was running so fast she passed right by Troy and James, who were appropriately confused at the sight of her and didn't have time to get a word out.

She arrived at the duo's spot in the field, gasping for air. "Hey," she said breathlessly, excitement thumping through her.

Lucas looked up from the grass, where the two of them had lain out some supplies, evidently for looking for Will again tonight. There were a couple of flashlights, snacks, compasses, binoculars, and, for some reason, a bandanna.

"Uh, hey?" he asked warily. A wave of irritation momentarily cut through Alina's excitement. So it wasn't weird for him to come to say hello to her, but it was weird for her to say hi to him?

"How's it going?" she asked politely, even though her mind was screaming for her to just tell them already.

"Uh..." Dustin swallowed, confused. "Good?"

"So." Alina sat on the grass in front of them. The two boys looked like deer in headlights, confused as to why the girl who never spoke to anyone was talking to them like they were best friends. "I've... I've got something I need to tell you two."

Dustin raised his eyebrows. "You do?" A smirk grew on his face, and Alina rolled her eyes, knowing what he was implying. She didn't have a crush on either of them, or Mike or Will either.

"Not like that," said Alina with a snort. "I know about..." she took a deep breath, trying not to let the words burst out of her. "I know about the girl."

Alina watched the boys exchanged a panicked glance, before Lucas tried to play it cool, determinately avoiding eye contact. "Uh... what girl?" he asked.

Dustin nodded, the hat he wore every day over his mop of curly hair bobbing as he did so. "What's... what's a girl?" he asked quickly.

Lucas smacked him, and Dustin hit him back, and suddenly the two boys were in a silent tussle war.

Finally, Lucas emerged from the conflict. "We... we don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"Has a shaved head," listed Alina, "was wearing this big yellow shirt, and was found in the woods by you two and Mike last night. That not ringing any bells?"

"How..." Lucas seemed at a loss for words. "How do you know about that?"

"Remember the snapped twig that spooked you all? And you ran away? That was me. I was out there looking for the girl, but you guys found her first. And I didn't exactly have a chance to catch up with you."

"Oh." A blush colored Dustin's cheeks. "Well, sorry. We wouldn't have run if we knew it was you. It's just... Will went missing around that area. You know Will, right?"

"I do," said Alina patiently. "The police interrogated me about him yesterday. But back to the point. I know the girl. Where is she?"

Lucas and Dustin exchanged another glance, the former looking guiltily up at her. "Well, we don't really know," he said. "Last I saw, she was at Mike's, but he was supposed to have gotten rid of her by now. She was gonna knock on the front door and pretend she was lost. Mike's mom would know what to do."

"So..." Disappointment surged through Alina. "She's gone?"

"Most likely," said Dustin. "But, hey! You can come over with us to Mike's after school! He might've learned something about her last night, and you should tell him what you know."

"What do you know?" Lucas asked. "And why? Is she some sort of escaped mental patient or something?"

"She's on the run is what she is," Alina replied. "I met her a month ago and got in trouble for seeing her. I saw her Sunday night, the night Will went missing, although my dad scared her, and she fled again. She told me she wasn't safe."

"She... talked to you?" Lucas asked skeptically. "Like, she said more than 'no' and 'yes'?"

"Yeah, she did. She knows how to talk, I just don't think her vocabulary is very good. She was struggling to explain things to me on Sunday."

"We still need to focus on finding Will," said Lucas. "But yeah, sure, come over after school. I think Mike would like to learn more about the girl." He gave her a half-smile, still seeming unsure of her presence. "Will you help us? With Will? If we take you there?"

Alina still had to get her hands on that file. But this was an opportunity that she knew wouldn't come up again, and it wasn't like she'd say no to a chance to coming even further on her journey to solve the mystery of the girl.

"Alright," she said. "It's a deal."

Dustin grinned widely, showing gaps where his teeth were missing. He stuck out a hand. "In case you don't know, I'm Dustin. Dustin Henderson. That's Lucas."

"Alina." She shook Dustin's hand. "Alina Fairgrieves. And whatever you do, don't call me Ally."

"Got it."

Lucas extended his hand, and Alina shook hands with him. "Yeah, I'm Lucas," he said, "but you know that already."

Just then, the bell rang, echoing throughout the schoolyard. Dustin smiled, standing up and tipping his hat. "Time to get to class, milady."

"Literally never do that again," Alina groaned, following the two boys inside the school, four words echoing in her mind after this strange encounter.

Well, that was interesting.

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

a/n: tbh i really hate this chapter lmao. hope you enjoyed anyways!

'till next time!