─── ❪ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐈𝐑𝐃𝐎 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐓❫ 𖦹

Killian paced back and forth in front of the couch where the girl they found in the woods was seated, panting profusely and overwhelmed by the barrage of questions.
"Is there a number we can call, for your parents?"  Michael questioned, leaning forward and causing the girl to jump slightly.
"Michael, don't get close to her, she's scared." Killian came to a halt beside his cousin, placing his fingers on his shoulders.
"Where's your hair hair? Do you have cancer?"
Killian's eyes widened in response to the curly-haired boy's question, and he bumped him with his elbow.
"Dustin!" He hissed as he faced the boy. When he returned his gaze to the child, he noticed her body trembling from fear and cold. Looking around the room, he grabbed a towel from the stairwell railing and held it out to the girl, who backed away with a gasp.
"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. You can take it." Killian reassured the girl by gently patting her thighs with the soft towel. "It will make you feel more comfortable if you dry yourself with it. Michael will give you fresh clothes."
"Did you run away?" Killian took a step back, trying to shoo them with his arms to stand back when Lucas interrupted.
"Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"Is that blood?" Killian squinted his eyes to focus on the crimson red liquid soaked in the girl's shirt as Lucas pointed at her. Michael raised his hand and slapped the boy's arm away, turning around furiously.
"Does the blood belong to you? Are you okay?" Killian asked her, his voice worried, trying to ignore the thought of the possibility that it was someone else's blood.
"Stop it! You're freaking her out!" Michael told Lucas, ignoring Killian.
"She's freaking me out!" Lucas retorted angrily.
"Guys!" Killian hissed at them, motioning with his hand to silence them. "Silence! You're going to get in trouble if you wake Karen up and she finds out you went out, and brought a girl back."
"You went out too." Dustin noted, but Killian chose to disregard the boy's response. "I bet she's deaf." The curly-haired boy continued, extending his hand in front of the girl's face and clapping, causing the girl to jump. "Not deaf."
"All right, that's enough, okay? She's just scared and cold." Mike took a confident step forward, gesticulating with his hands toward the group in an attempt to calm them down. Turning around, he picked a few pieces of clothing and handed them to the girl. The girl flinched, anxiously closing her eyes, as she heard the cracking sound in the sky.
"Don't worry... it's just thunder." His brotherly instincts kicked in as the tall boy tried to calm the girl down. He hadn't looked after a little girl in a long time, since his sister no longer required his brotherly protection. He missed having to wipe her tears from her puffy eyes because she had scraped her knees, or having to defend her from bullies who threw sand at her on the playground. But he's always been this way. Whenever he saw something small and defenseless, he felt compelled to embrace it and protect it from harm. But he still didn't understand that drifting apart is a natural part of life. Growing up only being able to rely on each other, that naive little boy side of him always thought that things would never change, that he could hide behind the veil that was shielding him from having to grow up, but as the years passed and her sister began to go home less and less and making more friends, his heart ached, leaving a bitter feeling eating up his broken insides, that were rotten by the unfair life he had to live. Maybe he was jealous that she was able to let go of the childhood that they never really had, or the fact that she could talk about those painful memories without wanting to rip her heart out and throw it away.
"Hey, these are clean, okay?" Mike handed the girl new clothes, which she grabbed with her trembling skinny fingers. She stood up and gripped the bottom of her shirt, attempting to take it off herself after drying her wet face with the towel.
"No! No! No!" Killian looked at the two boys who turned around freaked out as Michael struck his hand toward the girl's arms, stopping her from getting naked.
"Hey, you can..." Killian coughed, his throat scraped by the rain that had frozen his bones. "You can use the restroom over there and change your clothes there, okay?" Killian asked, with a reassuring nod, as he examined the girl's face to see if she was afraid of him.
"Privacy. Get it?" Michael stated as he motioned towards the bathroom door. The girl got up from her seat, unsure of her steps, and went to the restroom, with Michael trailing behind her.
"This is insane..." Killian closed his eyes and sat down on the couch, whispering to himself.
"Exactly, this is mental." Dustin said as Michael decided to return from the bathroom, looking at Killian.
"At least she can talk." Mike defended her with a shrug of his shoulders.
"She said "no" and "yes". Your three-year old sister says more." Lucas cut the boy off, his tone solemn.
"You don't know where she's from... maybe she's from... a horrible place. Perhaps her parents neglected her for years."
"Mike told me your parents are shitty too, but you can talk." The boy fumed, Killian shifting his eyes in surprise.
"Lucas, shut up! I didn't say that!" Mike cried in embarrassment as he turned to face the tan boy.
"Yes, you did-"
"Anyways!" Dustin interrupted their bickering by motioning with his hands toward them. "She tried to get naked."
"There's something seriously wrong with her. Like, wrong in the head." Lucas pointed to his head.
"Killian, she just went like this!" Dustin turned to teen, mimicking the way the girl tried to take the oversized t-shirt off, accidentally knocking the cap off from his head. With a roll of his eyes, Killian replied.
"I know, Dustin, I was here."
"I bet she escaped from Pennhurst." Lucas continued.
"What's Pennhurst?" Killian wondered, leaning forward, putting his face on his hands.
"The nuthouse in Kerley County." Killian scrunched his nose as he remembered his father threatening to send him there,when he used to have those angry outbursts as a young boy.
"You got a lot of family there?" Dustin questioned, a sly grin curling across his lips.
"Bite me. Seriously though, think about it. That would explain her shaved hair and why she's so crazy."
"She's not crazy, she's just scared." Killian defended the girl, whom he felt protective of for some reason.
"How is she not crazy? Have you looked at her?" Lucas hissed at the teen, his arm flailing in frustration.
"It would also explain why she went like..." Dustin imitated the shirt being removed once more.
"She's an escapee is the point. She's probably a psycho." Lucas turned to Michael, gesturing towards the bathroom door with his eyes, trying to prove his point.
"She might have come from a hospital!" Killian suggested.
"Where she slaughtered everyone."
"Dustin..." he sighed, slumping back into the comfortable couch with a groan and a roll of the eyes.
"Exactly! We should have never brought her here!"
"So you just wanted to leave her out in that storm?" Mike rambled, rain dripping from his wet black hair.
"Yes!" Lucas said it without hesitation. "We went out to find Will, not another problem."
"Michael, I think we should tell Karen. She could help her." Killian mumbled as he crumbled the wet fabric beneath his fingertips, his fingertips turning white from the force.
"I second that." Lucas stated.
"Who's crazy now?" Michael asked, his voice trembling with frustration.
"How is that crazy?" Lucas inquired, shrugging his shoulders and raising his hands.
"Cause, we weren't supposed to be out tonight, remember?"
"So?" Lucas, perplexed, asked.
"So, if he we tell my mom and she tells your mom and your mom..." Michael looked around, looking at the two boys in front of him.
"I'll just tell Karen that I snuck out and found her while wandering around." Killian proposed, attempting to solve the problem.
"That's not going to work." Michael gave a shaky nod. "Mom will freak out, and our house will become Alcatraz. And we'll never find Will." Dustin, still stunned by the girl trying to dress down in front of the boys, raised his hands to Lucas. "All right, here's the plan." Michael began by resuming his role as the party's leader. "She sleeps here tonight.
"You're letting a girl-" Dustin interrupted, but Michael stopped him in his tracks with a raised hand.
"Just listen! In the morning, she sneaks around my house, goes to the front door and rings my doorbell. My mom will answer and know exactly what to do. She'll send her back to Pennhurst or wherever she comes from. We'll be totally in the clear. And tomorrow night, we go back out. And this time, we find Will."

⌗ CHAPTER TWO ' – THE WEIRDO ON MAPLE STREET ᵎᵎ

Killian left Mike and the girl in the basement shortly after Dustin and Lucas left. He ran up the stairs with soundless steps, trying not to get caught. He slipped into the room and closed it behind him, a sigh leaving his lips. He wasn't used to sneaking out and in; when he was in Cincinnati, Kristopher didn't care where he and Rose went, and his dad was never home. When the moon cast shadows on the soundless dark sky and his mind was restless, he used to go for long walks, the luminous balls of gas on the sky shining on his cheekbones, the town sound asleep, and look down on the old train station, where the trains would lazily puff into the dusty railway tracks, the night's faint sickle shaped jewel reflecting on the dirty paint. And when he got bored, he'd try to guess the life stories of the passengers, maybe to calm his anxious mind from thinking he's the only person actually existing on the whole planet. And when he felt like doing something bad, he'd light a cigarette but put it out as soon as the stench of it entered his nostrils. But his favorite thing was always the rain; sitting under the bus stop, listening to music on the Walkman he borrowed from the neighbor man whose son he occasionally babysits because he couldn't afford one on his own. He'd lean back, enjoy the cold air stinging his bones, and fantasize about the life he'd never have, the people he'd never meet, and the love he'd never find. And when the rain stopped and he returned home, seeing his father passed out on the couch, surrounded by dozens of empty liquid bottles, strange stains on the carpet they got from a garage sale a few years ago, made Killian realize he was home. That this is the life he has to live, the reality he has to face everyday, the prison that prevents him from ever getting better.

He turned around with a defeated sigh after hearing a cough from behind his back.
"Did I wake you?" Killian murmured, his gaze drawn to his sister's face, which was hazy from the night's mist.
"No, I've been awake for a while." She whispered, raising her head to better observe his brother. "What were you doing?"
"Uh... I became hungry." Feeling bad for not telling the truth to his sister, he slipped a lie between his lips.
"I figured. You didn't eat much at dinner." She lied down, turning around, his back fading his brother, who had also gotten into his bed, with a shrug of her shoulder and a distasteful look on her face. "I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." He babbled as he stared at the ceiling, trying to process the previous hour's events, his heart rate quickening with anxiety at the thought of the terrified little girl sleeping in the basement.
"You know you don't have to lie to me, right?" Her sister abruptly spoke up, breaking the silence of the peaceful night.
"...I know."

⌗ CHAPTER TWO ' – THE WEIRDO ON MAPLE STREET ᵎᵎ

After finishing his breakfast with the Wheelers, Killian slipped in front of his cousin, his bag on his back.
"Mike." He whispered. "Do you remember the plan?" He questioned, his brow furrowed.
"Sure, of course I do. We talked about it last night: sneak her out, she rings the doorbell, mom helps, and we find Will. Easy." The short boy said, nervously clutching his jacket.
"All right." Killian ruffled the boy's hair as he huffed. "I'm off to school; let me know how it went when I get back." Turning around, he headed towards the front door, stopping when a cold touch slid on his shoulders.
"Let me take you to school, alright?" The bright smile of Karen greeted him. "Nancy and Rose are already in the car. Let's go." Not having any time to protest, he followed the woman.

When he arrived at school with Nancy Wheeler by his side, he received a few strange looks, but he ignored them.
"Hello, Barb!" Nancy came to a halt as she noticed her ginger friend standing near the locker. Killian wanted to go further, but Nancy's fingers locked on his wrist.
"Hello, Nancy!" The tall girl turned around, a wide smile on her lips, her hand tightly gripping her notes. Her eyes, which were hidden behind thick glass, widened in surprise when she saw the tan boy standing next to her friend. "And Killian?"
"How do you know my name?" He asked, his head tilted in uncertainty.
"You introduced yourself the day before." She gave the boy a gentle smile as she walked towards where the three of them would be having their first period.
"I didn't think anyone would remember my name." Killian laughed as he followed the two girls.
"You're quite well-known. Yesterday, other girls were gossiping about you in the locker room." Nancy said with a smirk on her face.
"Should I be happy about that?" The boy remarked, jokingly, but still thinking about how he feels about others gossiping about him.
"I'd be if I were you." The ginger girl shrugged her shoulders, casting a sly glance at her short best friend. "Maybe you'll be the next Steve Harrington." Nancy slapped Barb's hand with a smirk, Killian rolling his eyes at the sound of his name.
"Could you help me in revising some questions for the text?" Nancy held out some small notes she had taken from the folder she was holding to her friend.
"Sure." She took it from the girl and examined the paper while adjusting her glasses on her nose. "When alpha particles go through gold foil, they become..."
"Unoccupied space." Nancy responded quickly, impressing Killian, who didn't understand what they were saying.
"A molecule that can-" before Barb could finish her question, a tall figure appeared in front of them, grabbing the chubby girl's hand and nearly knocking Killian in the face.
"Steve-" Nancy sighed, her gaze fixed on her boyfriend. Killian recognized the boy from yesterday, and after nearly colliding with some jock, he abruptly exited the scene. Killian's heart dropped when he saw a lean figure with brown hair he hadn't expected to recognize, and his mind was flooded with memories of Jonathan Byers, the boy he used to be friends with during his time in Hawkins. The boy's gut wrenched as the flashback of the smiley face that shines like gold in the back of his head, that now looked depressing and gloomy.
His body moving on his own, he approached the boy, leaning next to the wall, biting his lips to a bloody mess.
"Jonathan?" He whispered, not wanting to startle the already overburdened students who were plastering posters on the school's announcement board. Turning around to face the unfamiliar voice, the gloomy, dark circled eye widened in surprise.
"...Killian?" He said softly, not wanting to believe his eyes, the  grip he had on the missing person poster tightening. "What brings you here? In Hawkins, I mean. I thought you live in Cincinnati."
"Yeah, I do, but my sister and I are staying there for a while." He shrugged, not wanting to go into detail about the reason for their stay, his gaze drifting to the piece of paper. "I'm sorry about what happened to your brother, Jonathan." He spoke with a sad smile on his lips. "I'm not sure what to say, but if you need anything, I'm here for you." The loud school bell caught him off guard as he finished his sentence. "Since I'm living with the Wheelers for now, just call them, okay?"
Jonathan nodded, then looked down at the tiles, a sad expression on his face. Turning around to leave for class, Killian couldn't stop thinking about the boy for the rest of the day, the painful twist never leaving his stomach.

⌗ CHAPTER TWO ' – THE WEIRDO ON MAPLE STREET ᵎᵎ

Killian picked at his food, trying to ignore the tense atmosphere at the dinner table.
"Something wrong with the meatloaf?" Karen questioned, her eyebrows raised in response to the children's unusual behavior.
"Oh, no, I had two bologna sandwiches for last lunch." Dustin smiled joyfully at Karen, a piece of meatloaf stuck to his fork. "I don't know why."
"Me too." Lucas chuckled nervously as he tapped the table. Killian looked at Mike, who returned his gaze to the plate of food, the teenager finding it odd that his cousin was ignoring him.
"It's delicious, Mommy."
"Thank you, sweetie.
"So, there's this..." Nancy began again, not looking her mother in the eyes, touching the string beans with her fork after each word, creating a rhyming pattern. "Special assembly thing tonight, for Will at the school field. Barb's driving." Karen wrinkled her brow as Nancy gave her a reassuring nod.
"Why am I just hearing about this?"
"I thought you knew."
"I told you, I don't want you out after dark until Will is found."
"I know, I know, but it's be super weird if I'm not there." Nancy interrupted her mother. "I mean, everyone's going."
"Just... be back by 10:00." Karen sighed, an idea flashing through her mind as she gazed at her niece and nephew. "Why don't you bring Killian and Rose with you?" She suggested, motioning to the two teenagers.
"No!" Nancy exclaimed, her brows furrowed together.
"Wha-Nancy?" Karen had a strange expression on her face as she looked at her daughter.
"I mean, they don't really know the Byers that well." Nancy shook her hand while squeezing a pea with her fork.
"And I already promised Nat that I'll go with her."  Rose told Karen as she looked up at her aunt.
"How come you didn't tell me sooner?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm not used to it." With a smirk on her lips, she continued to eat the food, savoring the fact that she was finally able to eat a homemade dish after so many months of going without one, with his father never bothering or sobering up to make one, and her and Killian not having enough skill to do one without burning the entire kitchen down.
"Nancy, you really should take Killian with you. So he can show support."
"I-, alright..." Putting her cutlery down on the napkins, she glanced at her cousin who didn't even bother to look up.
"Is that all right with you, Killian?" His aunt leaned forward, jolting the boy out of his reverie.
"Yeah, I guess. It's not like I had any plans for tonight."

After dinner, Killian caught Mike before he could slip down into the basement with his friends.
"Mike, the plan didn't work, did it?" Killian questioned, concerned. The small child looked away, his eyes filled with guilt, and he cracked his knuckles with anxiety. "Don't tell me you didn't even try, Michael-"
"I'm sorry, okay?! I just couldn't do it!" He exclaimed, defensively raising his head. "She told me that she's in danger."
"That gives us one more reason to tell Karen about it."
"No, Killian, you don't get it. She's talking about this kind of danger." Pulling his hand into a gun position, he raised it to his temple, then to Killian's head, the boy's gaze fixed on the small hand touching his face. "She said we can't tell any adults."
"Oh my God... where the hell did she come from?" Killian muttered to himself, unable to believe that revealing the girl to an adult could result in their death. "If we can't tell Karen, we should hide her because if Karen finds out, we're all dead. And you three smart-alecks better start thinking of a decent plan, because you know you can't hide her forever, right?"
"Her name... it's Eleven." Mike whispered.
"...what?" Being caught off guard by the strange name, Killian asked Michael, thinking he misheard.
"It's Eleven. Like the number." The boy shrugged his shoulder.
"I like it. It's unique." Looking at the basement door he sighed. "Bring her some food, so she won't be hungry at night. I'll be going with Nancy, don't do anything stupid that you'll regret, alright?
"Alright." The boy said in a promising tone, then went into the basement, where his friends probably waited for him.

⌗ CHAPTER TWO ' – THE WEIRDO ON MAPLE STREET ᵎᵎ

"Nancy, I can't believe you lied to me." Killian screeched, picking at the green knitted sweater he was wearing, which had been given to him by an old neighbor for his last birthday.
"I technically didn't lie, I just didn't tell you where we are exactly going." Nancy attempted to explain herself, earning a grunt from Killian.
"Yeah. That's called lying."
"What did you want me to do ? To tell Mom that I'll be going to Steve's? She would never have let me go!" Nancy exclaimed, turning around with her arms open to face her cousin.
"And she would have every right not to!" he argued back, rolling his eyes, wanting to throw himself on the road for some animal to feast on him, because that would probably be more fun than going to some stuck-up rich teenager's villa. "I don't even know these jerks, why do I have to waste my precious time with them?"
"Your precious time, which you would have spent sleeping anyway? And Steve isn't even a jerk!" He turned his head towards the window, slightly offended by the girl's remark, and looked out at the scenery, which had become blurry due to the speed of the car.
"Mike told me otherwise-"
"Why would you listen to Mike?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Killian sassed at the girl, who was still facing him with her deep, ocean blue eyes,.
"I-, can you just, please, give Steve a chance before labeling him as a piece of shit? He's so much different than how others talk about him."
"Maybe there's a reason why others think he's an asshole."
"Killian. Please. You never even spoke to him."
"Jeez, all right, whatever." Killian fumed, his skinny arms, which he had never muscled, turning red from gripping it with his palms, the anxiety from having to be around people soon twitching in his nerves and moving up to his brows. Killian had never been to the area surrounding Steve Harrington's house, but he liked the fortresses of the various trees surrounding the road, the pearl in the Black Sea lighting it, and showing the way for the three teenagers sitting in the car.
Nancy looked at Barb, interrupting the music with her sharp voice.
"Barbara, pull over." The brunette told her friend.
"What?"
"Pull over!"
"What are we doing here?" Barbara was perplexed as she reached over to turn off the music. "His house is three blocks away."
"We can't park in the driveway." She abruptly turned to face the ginger, speaking as if she were stating the obvious.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, the neighbors might see." Nancy huffed, turning away from her friend and applying lipstick to her mouth in the rear-view mirror.
"Nancy, I don't think the neighbors will give a damn." Killian mumbled and crossed his arms.
"This is so stupid. I'm just gonna drop you two off." Barb shook her head, wanting to restart the engine.
"Yeah, Nancy, Barb will drop you off." Killian corrected the ginger, refusing to go to his cousin's boyfriend's house, where the only person he'd know is his own cousin, with whom he's not even close.
"Calm down, Barb. And you're coming too, Killian." Nancy stated in a tense tone. "You promised that you'd go. You're coming."
"Uhh... I actually didn't promise anything. I was tricked." The boy grumbled as he leaned forward so the girl wouldn't ignore his comment.
"Well, you're here now, and I doubt you'd want to walk back home." Nancy nodded, a curl on her lips forming. "We're going to have a great time, and you can get drunk or do whatever you want, so... please?" She pleaded at the boys with puppy eyes, turning her head.
"He just wants to get in your pants." Barb burst out, a frustrated look on her face.
"No, he doesn't." Nancy chuckled, shaking her head in denial.
"Nance... seriously. He invited you to his house. His parent's aren't home. Come on, you are not this stupid." Barb tried to convince the girl, but without any success in the end.
"Tommy H. and Carol are gonna be there." Nancy argued back, Killian returning his attention to the conversation at the mention of the name.
"Wait a minute, Carol?" He blurted out, recalling what his sister had told me about the girl.
"They're his friends, what did you expect?" Nancy questioned.
"Tommy and Carol have been having sex since, like, seventh grade." Nancy laughed as the girl with glasses told her friend.
"It'll probably just be, like, a big orgy."
"Yeah, I forgot to tell you that orgys are one of my favorite Tuesday night activities." The boy in the back seat murmured, becoming increasingly irritated with each passing minute.
"Gross." Nancy narrowed her eyes and began to remove the baby blue sweater she was wearing, while Killian turned away to respect the girl's privacy.
"I'm serious..."
"All right, well... you can be, like, my guardian. All right? Make sure I don't get drunk and do anything stupid."
"Do you want me to tackle you if I see a beer can in your hand?" Killian mumbled.
"You can try if you don't get drunk." Nancy laughed with delight as she smoothed her party shirt.
"I'm not sure if you thinking I'm an alcoholic offends me." Killian said, squinting his eyes.
"I never thought that you're an alcoholic. And drinkers are cool, so take it as a compliment."
"I have mixed feelings about drinking, but sure." He shook his head and reached for the door handle.
Killian grunted occasionally as he walked the three blocks to Steve Harrington's house, still irritated at having to attend a party. When they arrived at the house, his eyes widened because he thought he'd never see a bigger house than the Wheelers', but here he was, standing in front of the huge red doors of another white rich family's house. Killian stood next to Nancy, listening to the faint sound of music, Barbara moving around nervously, Nancy pushing the doorbell button and looking at her nervous friend.
"Barb, chill."
"I'm chill." After a few seconds of standing, hearing the sound of approaching feet, the red door opened, the tall boy looking at Nancy with a huge smile on his face.
"Hello ladies." He greeted the two girls, then looked at the boy next to Nancy with an unimpressed expression, confusion on his face. "And... gentleman?" The boy's voice lowered as he took a closer look at the unexpected visitor.
"Steve!" Nancy said happily, gripping her bag's strap with glee. "I invited, uh, my cousin! If that's okay, I didn't want to leave him at home." Nancy lied to her boyfriend, Killian sighing at Nancy's fake pity.
"Of course, no problem." With a wink, he flattered the girl.
"Hola, amigo, me ilamo Steve." With a strange accent and the fakest smile he extended his arms to shake the shorter boy's hand, who just put his cold palm inside his pockets.
"I don't speak Spanish." He cringed as he told Steve, wanting to go home even more desperately than before.
"Of course you don't." Steve exhaled by clicking his tongue. "Come on in." He stepped back, bowing and whirling his hand.

After a about an hour of listening to the two couples annoying chatting and lame jokes, he sat down next to the pool, feeling a bit dizzy due to being tipsy, sipping the beer that Steve handed him a few minutes ago, an tried to ignore the sound of Carol's hysterical laughter, looking down to the clear water in the pool, counting the leaves that fell into it. A white stick pointing at his eyes interrupted his stuffy mind, which was about to overflow with unnecessary thoughts.
"You know, you look fucking depressing." The raspy voice hit his ears, Killian didn't even have to look up to know that it belonged to Steve Harrington, holding a cigarette towards his face. Killian, who after a few side glances with the cancer stick, and losing an internal battle with his sober self, he took and, and stocked it behind his ears.
"I'm actually fucking happy." Killian told the boy with bitter sarcasm.
"The pool that you have been staring at for the past thirty minutes made you this happy? Never seen one before?" Steve smirked, puffing smoke out of his lungs, taking a glance at his girlfriend, who was talking to Barbara while gripping some kind of liquor in her hands.
"Not really. I mean one of my neighbors had one, but some old lady tried to drown me in it after I told her that I don't want to join her afternoon church club. So... my memories are kind of hazy about that time." Killian answered, not actually wanting to talk to the boy, but it felt like his mouth moved on it's on, the words he spoke unclear in his head, as if someone said it behind his back.
"Jeez, what kind of place do you come from?" Steve snorted and shook some ash next to the pool.
"Cincinnati. It's a brutal place, full of murderous grandmothers." Killian shook his head, his eyes widening.
"My parents took a few trips there, but they never told me about the psycho old people." He laughed.
"Yeah, well, I have a feeling the neighbors they visited were quite different from the one I lived in." He put the cigarette in his mouth and looked up at the boy, asking for a lighter with his eyes.
"What? Are you, like, poor or something?" Steve burst out laughing, but he quickly stopped when Killian didn't join in.
"I supposed you had already came to this conclusion when you saw me." He stood up, nearly falling into the water, as he felt a pulsating sensation in his head. "I'm going to use the restroom."
"You don't even know where it is-" Ignoring the boy's voice, he went inside, passing Tommy H. as he pushed Carol into the pool. He found the neat bathroom after wandering around the house for at least fifteen minutes. When he saw how drunk he looked in the mirror, he grunted. He hadn't drank in a long time. It wasn't his first time drinking, but he despised the way the bitter liquor slid down his throat, seizing control of his mind. And he'd always have the feeling that his body wasn't his, that the voice coming from him was someone else's, that time and space had stopped existing and the world around him wasn't real, that everything was a lie, and that his entire existence was an illusion.

The bathroom began to move too quickly for his liking, crushing his lungs and leaving him unable to breathe. As he leaned down, his shaky cold fingers touched the sink and turned it on, the icy water splashed in his face. As if a swarm of ants had surrounded his brain, he felt his body go numb, his senses weaken, his legs stop working properly, everything becoming dark. His eyes flickered open as cold water ran down his entire body, piercing through his spine, in a confused state of not knowing anything in the endless abyss surrounding him. With the bubbles rising in front of his eyes, he found himself in an unknown setting, with three men in white suits and a tall old man with grey hair and a terrifying smile on his face in front of him. Killian was frightened. He tried to move but couldn't because the body he was in wasn't his. But it felt so real, as if it were happening in that moment. But it wasn't, because a moment ago he was outside some rich white dude's house sipping beer, not in a fucking tank where he couldn't control himself. He has to leave. Forcing his eyes shut, he exhaled, feeling as if his lungs were filled with icy cold water. The flashing images made his brain hurt, and he could feel his nerves popping, blood running through it. Then it stopped. As he opened his eyes again, the blinding lights stung his vision. He looked around, to make sure he was back in Steve's bathroom, and when he was, he reached out his hand, which was even colder than before, and touched his nostrils, where hot crimson blood was gushing out, dripping down to his chins, where it collided with the water, creating a huge pinkish drop, falling down onto the tile. He turned around and ran down the stairs, almost colliding with Barbara, who was looking up with a concerned expression on her face, while he was wiping the red liquid into his sweater. "Killian! What were you doing? I had been- "She frowned when she noticed the blood on his chin. "Are you okay? Is there anything going on?"
"No." He lied, peering behind her at the outside door. "I'm really tired, I'll be going. Tell Nancy I went home, okay? And please, make sure nothing happens to her." He rushed out without even waiting for the girl's response, walking down the streets with steady steps. He felt sober after the dream, or whatever it was. It's only been two days since he arrived in Hawkins, but he's already had two strange imaginings. Dreaming was a rare thing for him, but it was becoming more common, and he despised it, when he had to be in a world that wasn't real, and his mind was controlling him and the events that occurred around him. This town made him feel like he was going insane, and if he could, he would run away and never return.

Crack.

He looked up from his sneakers when he heard a branch snap. He moved forward with a soundless step, his heart rate quickening as another noise that sounded like growling came from behind him. Turning his head, a tall figure he couldn't see clearly through the flickering street lights made his blood run cold, and he began running, sticks and fallen leaves crunching under his feet, nearly tripping in a rock he didn't see. The unexpected fog that came down, spreading out, drawing everything together into a pile of white ocean with green waves of trees, his running came to an end, when he bumped into something hard, making him fall back, the skin on his palm scraped from the concrete, drops of blood formed on the injured area.
"Shit..." he murmured, trying to make out the figure in front of him.
"Killian?" The deep voice checked, squatting down and holding out a hand, the boy's unclear face becoming vivid to Killian. "Are you okay?"
"...Jonathan?"