CHAPTER THREE.
safety and steve harrington.

—

nineteen stares at the man with black sunglasses sat atop his head and tries not to move.

"Помогите." she mumbles.

the man stares for a second. "w-what? do you speak english?"

she doesn't reply, realizing that she doesn't have to speak russian with him. she barely knew where she was, and papa always made sure that she knew she had to speak russian when they would send her in for tests.

he clears his throat. "um, kid... what are you doing out here this late? and..." the man, boy more like it, finally seems to get a good look at her clothes.

what the hell?

"woah, wait." he glances at the woods that was right behind her. "did you come from the-the lab? why are you covered in dirt and... bl... oh, jesus." nineteen takes a step back and stands in ready-to-run position.

"okay, look," he starts nervously. "how about you come... get in my car. and i'll take you home." he says, walking around the car slowly. nineteen's eyes widen and she shivers in response.

jesus christ.

"hey, i know you know you probably shouldn't trust strangers, but look, i won't hurt you, just come get in my car and i'll take you back-" he cuts himself off. "look, i know how this sounds. but... do you want me to take you back home?"

"no." she says immediately. "please. don't take me... h-home."

the girl mentally reaches forward into the back of his  mind and lets out a sigh of relief. he wouldn't hurt her. he was hurt himself.

"well why not? okay, wait. what if i take you back to my home? i won't hurt you, i promise. and we can call the cops? it's safe and warm at my house. and we can get you something to eat and drink - you're probably hungry. you look like you've been wondering for hours." he says, taking two steps forward with his hands out.

nineteen listens to him speak, registering the word 'safe'. when he stops talking and just stares at her, she realizes he's waiting for answer. not knowing any better, and just listening to his thoughts, nineteen nods her head. 

what's going on?

"good. good. okay, i'm gonna walk over to you and bring you to my car, okay?" he said. she nods and unwrapps her arms, holding them up almost as if she was asking for a hug. "here," he says , gently touching her arm. she doesn't flinch but she does tense up. he hesitates before touching her again.

"okay, here you go." he opens the passenger door and gestures for her to step in and sit. she does so and stares at him as he jogs around the car and gets in. he looks over at her once more before he starts up the car. she gasps and grabs ahold of the dashboard.

"hey, hey, it's all right. it's supposed to do that." he tells her soothingly. she nods and leans back in the seat, slightly panting in fear.

how does she not know what a car is?

"car?" she asks quickly, looking at the wheel and radio in amazement. so this is what a car is! mary had taught her that word.  nineteen looks at her lap, suddenly mournful. mary was gone. she was actually gone.

the man nervously glances at her as they start to drive down the road in silence until he decides to speak.

"so, what's the deal? why were you out in the middle of the woods this late?" he asks. nineteen stares at her bare feet with a blank expression.

she doesn't answer, not knowing the words to say. she instead wraps her arms around herself.

"oh, are you cold?" he asks. "here, i have a coat for you." he says, reaching into the backseat to produce a black coat that he usually wore. it was black and would basically swallow her. it felt rough and bulky on the outside but was silky feeling on the inside. nineteen slips it on silently.

"what's your name?" he tries again. she opens her mouth and then closes it.

"what's yours?" she asks instead of answering, looking out the window. he takes a left and glances at her.

"i'm steve." he introduces with a gentle smile.

steve harrington.

"hi, steve." she says with a small smile of her own.

"hi." he chuckles, almost weirded out. "you still haven't told me your name." he says. nineteen looks back out the window as an answer.

nineteen doesn't say anything for the rest of the ride, just continues staring out the window at the scenery. and while steve felt he should have pressured the girl into telling him something, he also felt that he should just help the girl first.

when they get to steve's house, he opens his door quickly and then almost runs around the car to open hers. she steps out and stares up at the huge house. her mouth drops open slightly. "big house." she comments and he sighs, looking up at the house himself.

too big for one person.

he seems to come back to reality fast, though, because he turns to the young girl and gently grabs her arm and leads her inside. he unlocks the front door, walks through and stares at her as she stands in the doorway, unmoving.

"you okay, kiddo?" he asks, leaning against the door. she looks up in wonder at the beautiful house. she quickly steps through and he closes the door before walking towards the kitchen.

"okay, you can sit here." he says, pulling out a stool at the counter. she walks over to it and hops up on it, looking around the brightly colored kitchen. there had been one at the lab, but it was dull and grey.

steve stares at the girl who was looking at her palms with squinted eyes. "well, my parents aren't home, they're away right now, so you'll be all right." he speaks and she starts looking around again. her mouth twitches upwards slightly at the childish decorations.

"okay, i'm not going to be able to make you a full course meal.. so how about just some heated up leftover pizza?" he says, turning to the refrigerator. nineteen perks up. she hasn't tasted pizza yet, although she knew what it was and had heard about several times.

she watches as he takes out two pizza boxes. he opens the first box and pulls out two pieces and opens the microwave and sets down the plate. he smashes a button and turns to the girl, watching her begin to shrug off the coat he had given her. it drops to the floor behind her.

"listen, kid, you gotta tell me your name or i'll.. i'm just gonna start calling you something."

nineteen stares at the ground instead of looking at steve. she lets a tiny sigh flow through her semi-closed lips and closes her eyes.

steve shuffles uncomfortably. "hey," he starts. nineteen's eyes pop open and she looks up at him. steve's eyes zero in on nineteen's own.

"blue." he blurts. nineteen squints her eyes a little. "y-your eyes. they're really blue." he says. "and you're wearing it," he chuckles. the corners of nineteen's mouth twitch slightly again. her baby blue eyes did almost match the blue stripes on her pajamas.

"blue's a color." she tells him. why would it be a name? he shrugs. "it doesn't have to be just a color. you gotta tell me your name, or i'll start calling you anything."

"is it a... pick-name?" she asks intently. steve chuckles, leaning up.

"it's a nickname, you could say." he corrects her. she nods, looking between him and the floor. "have you ever had a nickname?" he pries, hopefully trying to get an answer that might help him get her real name.

she shakes her head. "no."

"oh," he mumbles, leaning on the counter in defeat.

"it's-" she starts. he looks up in surprise. "it's nineteen." she says. his eyebrows furrow. "what's nineteen?"

"my name."

shock crosses his face. "your name is a number? that's-" he then stops, a realization of some sort coming across his face. "i'm gonna go-" and then he stops again, sadness now contorting his features.

nancy.

nineteen tilts her head. who was nancy? she focuses on steve as he turns away.

love

like we're in love?

bullshit
bullshit
bullshit

the timer on the microwave goes off. she turns to it and steve pulls out the pizza. he unwraps it and sets the plate down in front of her.

"do you like olives?" he asks, drawing his hand back. without thinking, she grabs at the pizza. it stings her and she slightly hisses through her teeth. she lifts it up again and takes a bite. she chews slowly before quickly going back in for another bite.

"um, i'll be right back." he mumbles, walking out of the room. "don't eat too fast or you'll get sick."

nineteen ignores him, shoving the pizza into her mouth. she turns towards the direction he went in and closes her eyes, attempting to listen in on what he was doing.

"is nancy there?" there was a long pause. "well could you have her call me when she wakes up then? tell her it's not about what she thinks it is. yes. you too, mrs. wheeler. have a good night, bye."

nineteen's nose scrunches up in confusion once again and she sighs, picking up the bread of the pizza. steve walks in a few minutes after. he chuckles at the empty plate. "jesus, you're pretty hungry, aren't you?" he was now holding a large sweater and sweatpants.

"okay, these were mine. probably a little big but they'll do for now." he walks over and holds them out to her. she takes them and sets them in her lap carefully, as if they were made of glass.

steve stares at her as he walks around the counter.

"you want more?"

after eating six pieces of pizza in total, nineteen was satisfied with a full stomach. she adjusts her pajamas anxiously.

"okay." steve sighs, running a hand down his face. "so, your name is a number and i found you in the woods. and i think you came from the lab. that's why i haven't said anything or called the cops or something. we don't have to call them, but this is weird, alright? you can stay here tonight, and you'll be safe. as long as no creepy dudes in white robes or other messed up... things... come to my house..." he says, picking at a thread on his pants. he looks up at her, smiling uncomfortably before letting out a loud sigh.

"here, there's a spare room in the hallway i'm in." he says, walking out of the room and leading her down the hallway. she quickly gets out of her seat and follows. "i'll have to get a sheet and blanket and stuff but it's good. it's clean."

"this is my room, i'll leave the door open if you need anything." he says, pointing to his bedroom. "and i have school in the morning, so we'll have to get up early to... i don't know... get you sorted out, but..."he trails off, looking back down at her. he walks to the spare room and pushes open the door.

her eyebrows draw together painfully as he mentions her leaving. she walks into the room, looking around. sure enough, there was just a bed and two drawers on either side. "i'll go get a sheet." he then says to no one in particular, walking away and down to the closet in the hallway. he takes out a grey sheet and a fluffy blanket and walks into his room and grabs a pillow from his bed.

nineteen wonders into the hallway, where he stands at a random closet. he looks to her with surprised eyes.

"bathroom." she states as a question. he turns and points past him to the bathroom. she walks to it, without closing the door and strips, putting on the new clothes.

steve had been embarrassed when he didn't hear the door close, but then suddenly felt bad. if he was right and she did come from the lab, she didn't know it was improper. she had never been taught.

she walks back out, now in the black sweater that swallowed her, and grey sweatpants.

"okay, here we go," he announces, walking into the bedroom. she follows behind him as he places the sheet onto the bare bed and lays the pillow and blanket out. "you're all set." he says, looking at her.

"thank you." she says, going to sit down underneath the blanket.

"you're welcome. uh, i'll see you in the morning." he says, flicking the light off. he begins to close the door.

"wait." she calls out, and steve stops and turns back, poking his head in.

"i'm not mean, i won't do anything." she says. steve looks surprised. "you were scared." she states. steve opens his mouth to speak but stops.

"i didn't think you were mean." he assures. nineteen nods, trying to calm him down by smiling.

"and," she starts again. "the-the.. cops. they're not safe." she then finishes, tucking herself under the blanket.

steve stares at her for a minute. "okay." he finally says, smiling at her gently before leaving the door open about three inches.

nineteen turns to the side, letting out a breath of relief. she was safe for the time being. she didn't know if steve would take her to the cops in the morning, but she knew what she would have to do if he did.

with that, her bottom lip quivers and she lets out a quiet sob. the day had been too long and too eventful for her to handle. she just wanted to be safe, and happy. not back at the lab, doing tests and talking to new people who only cared about her powers.

she wanted a home.

-

nineteen's face scrunched up into discomfort as a blinding yellow splayed across her face. she opens her eyes and immediately closes them at the brightness.

"good morning. it's 7:20, i went out this morning and bought you clothes, and while i don't have to be at school until 8, i was afraid this would take a little bit."

nineteen then opens her eyes again and looks at the brown haired boy. he was standing in front of the window, hands on his hips. nineteen frowns. clothes were bunched up against his left arm.

she sits up slowly, pushing the covers off and sitting criss-cross. she looks back up at steve, squinting. she suddenly remembered what mary told her once. nineteen always looked super grumpy when she was first woken up. she always had a bad case of 'bedhead' and was tired for a while even after she woke up.

"so, i couldn't really sleep last night. guess i was too nervous." he starts. "and you gave me a lot to think about. um, there's this man, hopper." nineteen's eyes widen and she nods. "hopper." she repeats.

"wait, you've met him?" steve asks. nineteen shakes her head. "so.. you just know of him then?" he guesses. she nods, rubbing her eye. "but you've never met him?" nineteen nods again, dropping her hand to her lap. "okay, well, i'm glad that'll help."

"he is a cop, but he knows what he's doing. last year, there was this whole fiasco. it's crazy. i can't even describe it." he said, shaking his head. nineteen nods. "i know." she interrupts.

steve's mouth slightly drops open and he holds up his hand. "we'll talk more about that later." he says. "but, anyway, can you stay here for the day and then this evening, as soon as i get off of school, i'll come get you, and we'll go to him?"

nineteen's mouth drops open slightly. "um, i - yes?"  she says, her face scrunching up a little in confusion. he smiles.

"okay, and i would take the day off school but i got this test that i cannot miss. it's so annoying, you wouldn't even underst-" He stops himself as he seems to remember who he's talking to and just pats his legs.

"great. okay, i should go, um, let me get you some shoes. that way, we can go as soon as i get back." he says, standing up and quickly running out of the room. she hears him run down the steps and then it's silent for a moment and he runs back up the steps. he appears in her room, holding white ankle socks and dirty black converse. he sets them and the clothes on the bed. it's a cashmere sweater with thin green and red stripes and a pair of jean shorts.

"can you believe the only thing they had were shorts? ridiculous." he scoffs. "it's literally october now. it's getting colder." he stands up straight.

"also, i haven't worn these in years but your foot looked really tiny and i wore these when i was your age." he stops. "i think i was your age, anyway." he says, setting them next to her.

"well, i gotta go. i'll be back around 3:30, depends on traffic, not that there's usually any in hawkins - and if i get caught up with anybody." he says, starting to walk out.

"oh, yeah!" he stops, making nineteen's head fly back to him. "can i check your size in shirt and pants?" he asks. nineteen's face goes blank and she just confusedly nods. "do those fit well?" he walks over to her pajamas from the lab and picks them up.

"i'm just looking at your tag." he tells her. she nods slowly as he looks at the waistband of the pants and then the shirt's tag. "i think the clothes i bought this morning were okay. the store lady was weirded out, but..." He looks up.

"do these fit well?" he repeats. she nods. he mutters to himself and then takes her hand, dragging her out of bed and downstairs quickly.

she about stumbles, but he grabs ahold of her arms, giggling at her clumsiness. nineteen smiles slightly, the first real one she's shown since she met him.

—

Помогите = please
нет = no
пожалуйста = please

ok so i'll explain more as the story goes on, but the black italics are meant to represent other people's thoughts that nineteen can hear haha what even is this story