Andrea sat in the passenger's side of Steve's burgundy BMW 733i. As annoyed as Seven was by the Harrington boy, he needed someone to talk to and she was trained to always be there for anyone who needed her.

The night of the party, she told him just to pull off somewhere and get everything off of his chest. She would try to help with him as she used to with the other numbers, especially the children. They always needed someone to consult with after everything that they went through.

"She just said it's all bullshit," Steve explained as he leaned back into his seat, his hands waving through the air.

Andrea replayed the memory of seeing how much Nancy had taken to drink from the mysterious red liquid, "She was intoxicated, under the influence if you want to be fancy."

"Well, most people say what they really think when-" Steve went into a rant but if he had these doubts, why was he in this relationship?

"Well if that's what she really thinks then is the relationship meant to be?" Seven spoke, "And if you're questioning this as much as you are, I think you might not feel the way you truly think you do. "

Seven did not know everything yet. She knew the fundamentals that the lab had taught her. That One had taught her. She knew of relationships and she knew of the family. She vaguely knew of Holidays but it truly had stopped there.

"What?" Steve spoke, shock settling into his features as the gears turned in his head pushing in Seven's words.

"I've never been in a relationship so I could be wrong, but, if there is this much doubt and fear clouding what you believe and how you feel then what if it isn't truly real? It's just something you made up to try and make yourself happy?" Andrea questioned carefully as she rested her head against the headrest of the seat.

And that was where the conversation had fallen hazily into Seven's mind. She had apparently dozed off during her conversation with Steve, and when she woke up she was on high alert. She had yet to trust Steve and who knows what might've happened.

She tugged off Steve's jacket which had been draped over her body and she began to poke the sleeping boy, "Steve, we're late for school."

"Five more minutes," His voice was deep, clearly he wasn't awake.

"Harrington!" The girl yelled with a huff, "Get us to school!"

"Huh? Oh - we're late. Okay," Steve was up and now getting the car ready for the two to get to school.

The girl went into school in the clothes she had worn to the party, the clothes Nancy had given her. Some people whistled as she walked in halfway through the school day. Some of the girls looked riddled with envy.

Seven didn't have much to say, just sticking to her routine.

"You look like you had a rough night," Jonathan looked at Seven as she played with her curls.

"Tell me about it. Steve had a little emotional session," Seven mumbled shortly as her gaze stayed down.

"And you ended up in the exact same thing?" Jonathan questioned again but went quiet at Andrea's expression, "Sorry."

"Look, just drop this," Andrea looked at him, "I'm not having a good day so far. People have a serious staring problem."

"They tend to do that," Jonathan gave her a small smile.

"So I've figured," Seven let her hands fall to her sides, "So, what do you think about the whole Nancy/Steve situation?"

"What do you mean?" He seemed caught off guard by the question.

"Well from what I've been able to tell they seem to be hurting one another more than they realize. Both are out of the honeymoon phase of dating, the weight of the relationships setting in," Seven hummed as she leaned back.

"You sound like a therapist," Jonathan joked, trying to lighten the situation or change the topic.

"And I've observed how you act around Nancy, somethings there. You care for her so I want to know your take," Andrea then added as she readjusted her posture.

Jonathan choked on the air in his lungs causing Seven to furrow her eyebrows. That reaction told it all. He definitely did have something for her.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself?" Jonathan now spun the question into a different direction.

"Don't avoid my question," She whispered, avoiding his.

"Then don't avoid mine," Jonathan caught a glimpse of something on her wrist.

Seeing where Jonathan's eyes had landed, Andrea quickly tugged down her sleeve acting as if nothing was there.

"I'm not avoiding yours. I would simply like an answer to my question," Seven rose to her feet, "I think I've got to go now. Bye Jonathan."

"Alright," Jonathan's head hung low, a skeptical look formed on his features before seeing Nancy storm by and changing to concern.

"Did Steve drive you last night? I'm so sorry that I ended up the way I was. I didn't want you to be alone and I guess it happened," Nancy came to a quick halt as she grabbed Andrea.

"Yeah, Steve drove me. He had a lot to talk about and he was upset so I let him talk. Don't worry about it Nancy," Andrea gave a shrug of her shoulders.

"I'm going to talk with Jonathan, if you need us we'll be sitting on his car," Nancy nodded before grabbing arms with Jonathan and taking him out the door.

Andrea walked through the school. Looking around before walking through a group of guys who all whistled. She noticed their girls looking angry but she didn't pay any mind.

Seven stepped outside of the school building. Leaning against a wall as she sighed, her hands running through her hair before she felt as if something was off. The girl looked around before having a gut feeling something was not right.

She looked around and noticed one of the government vehicles. One which she had seen around the lab several times. She lowered her head and quickly turned a sharp corner going out the back of the school.

She made sure to easily slip through anyone who passed by her. Her curls covered her face as her hand tugged at her jacket harshly. It was something she did out of nerves. Fear pounded through her body. She had escaped them once, but what if they got her? What if they got her and she couldn't escape this time?

That was the fear that plagued her thoughts at all times. She was lucky to get out the first time. They trusted her to be the perfect and compliant little number Seven. That's the role she played. The role she played was to gain their trust and play them for her freedom.

But now they would know that. They would know what she would do and how it would work out. They would know that everything she did and said was a lie. That she wasn't the perfect little compliant girl. She was a backstabber. An experiment gone wild.

She found a path of concrete not far off from the High School, she had ended up walking quite a bit aways. Maybe a football field or two as the school was slowly fading from her sight.

She didn't know where it led but she knew it would take her somewhere. She also needed to find out why she felt something was unsafe. So, she followed her intuition to wherever it would take her.

Totally safe. Totally not about to get caught trespassing. Totally not about to end back up in the Lab. Everything's peachy... everything's perfect.... Seven repeated in her mind as she found a set of glass doors to an unknown building.

It looked like yet another school. Why were there so many schools? This must be what the newspaper called the middle school.

She turned around and ran trying to figure through the halls, using her abilities to keep herself hidden from anyone who would catch her. She ended up in one of the sets of bathrooms. The growl of the little creature caused her to stare at it in fear.

Someone walked in behind her. Not catching her attention fast enough for her to use her abilities. A boy with a bowl cut now stood beside her looking at it with just as much fear, as he slowly lifted some sort of machine to his face.

"Guys, I've found him," His voice was soft, a bit scratchy.

She recognized him. He was that kid Dr. Owens brought into the lab. She never knew why but she knew he had no clue about the numbers. About the tests. About the experiments. About what she was.

"Where?" A voice came through the machine causing fear to run through Andrea's veins.

Will held the stall door open as Andrea was now leaning against the wall peering in while staying a distance from Will's weird device.

"In the bathroom, by Mr. Salerno's."

"Copy that."

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," Will spoke at the little creature which started to hiss.

"Don't do that," She stuttered out, "It isn't... It isn't normal."

It screeched again causing Andrea to cover her ears while Will dropped his machine and ran out. She noticed as the lights began to heavily flicker.

The door to the bathroom slammed open, "Hi! I'm Dustin," The boy with curly hair spoke as Andrea pulled her hands from her ears.

She looked at him strangely, "Hi..."

"What's your name? Uh sorry about my creature there... it's not used to people?" Dustin's statement seemed more like a question as he walked by her to get into the stall.

"It's okay. Uh - I'm Andrea, Andrea Keene," She crossed her arms tightly across her chest as she watched Dustin.

He leaned down, holding his hand out for the creature, "Come here. You know I won't hurt you," He smiled at the creature and began to stand, "It's okay. It's just me. You're okay."

"Let's go. Down here!"

"We're coming!"

"I need to hide him," Dustin began to take things off and Andrea shook her head, "I've got it."

This could easily be a bad idea. An incredibly stupid idea. Hiding whatever this creature was from god knows who?

But she felt bad for the boy, so she decided to help out.

"Stay low, keep quiet," Dustin spoke as he put Dart in his pocket while Andrea focused and used her abilities to hide him.

"Where's Dart?" Three people walked into the bathroom, a boy who was almost as white as snow who held similar features to Nancy, a boy with gleaming dark skin and a red shirt, and then a girl with vibrant red hair and a yellow shirt.

"I don't know," Dustin acted like a deer in the headlights as he looked at Andrea whose nose had blood trickling down from it, "not here."

"What?" The pale boy exclaimed as he began to walk around.

"He said by Salerno's, right?" The girl questioned.

"Yeah, maybe Will has him," Dustin suggested.

"I saw another kid with him," Andrea tried to help.

"Who even are you?" The dark-skinned boy asked.

"Where is Will?" Mike asked as he realized he wasn't there.

Andrea felt everything feeling off. Something still wasn't right and she wasn't sure if it was something to do with the creature or what had happened the night prior. Fear ran through her veins.

"Field," She spoke before wiping her nose, "Go to the field," She commanded the group.

She ran with this random group to the field. Will stood stuck in his mind as his body shook and it wasn't long before a woman appeared, presumably Will's mother.

"Will? Will! Sweetie, wake up! It's Mom!" She was visibly worried as she shook her son but he didn't budge.

Something has him.

"Will? Will, wake up!"

Andrea shifted on her feet uncomfortably. She kept tugging at her sleeve and she had relieved herself of hiding the creature. No one would pay any mind to it in a time like this.

"Can you hear me?" Will, please, just wake up!" His mom kept prying at him, "Wake up! It's Mom!" She continued to yell.

He gasped and jolted awake. As if something had finally let go of him causing the girl to stumble back. His mom was quick to get him out of there, and the rest of the group followed quickly after. Everyone except Andrea.

Andrea sat herself down in the grass. Something truly wasn't right there and she knew that it wouldn't be for a while. Hopefully, Dustin would figure something out with the creature and get rid of it. It was something that wasn't good.

"Think happy. Think happy," Seven tried repeating to herself as she placed her hands on her head, "No one is getting you. You're safe."

But am I? Am I truly safe? She would be hunted. No one would ever stop hunting her. She was a dangerous weapon designed by the government. Government bred.

"Hey," The voice of the pale boy called out, "Are you alright?"

Her head turned sharply and she looked at him, she was scared, "Who are you?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I'm Mike Wheeler," He responded as he slowly walked closer, "You're scared."

Andrea went to tug back down her shirt.

"You're from the lab," Mike said, "I knew another girl. She was like you. A bit different though," He motioned to his hair.

She looked over at him, knowing exactly who he was talking about, "You knew Eleven? Where is she?"

"I'm not sure. How long have you...?"

"A few days, almost a week," Seven answered.

"What's your name?"

"Seven, or as everyone here knows me as Andrea. Andrea Keene."

"Is that your birth name?" Mike found himself asking.

"No. The last name was made up, my first name a friend gave me years ago," Andrea explained as she began tugging at her arm.

"Your Nancy's new friend, I've heard your name before," Mike slowly walked closer to her, "Does she know?"

Andrea shakes her head, "No one does."

What was she going to do now? Someone knew what she was and where she came from. Eleven had trusted them but she had no clue where Eleven was now. All that she knew was that she was somewhere safe.

"You sound a lot more... normal, than El," Mike chose his words carefully as he now kneeled on the ground near Seven.

"We didn't have the same.... the same situation," Andrea decided that was the best conclusion of her life, "We had different outcomes of lives."

Andrea took a sharp breath in, "I need to go."

"Go where?" Mike asked, "Where do you need to go?"

"Somewhere."

"You don't need to be so vague," Mike retorted as he gave her a small smile despite the tense atmosphere from what had been happening moments earlier, "To the place you're hiding?"

"Hiding," Seven spoke simply.

"You don't look much older than El."

"I'm not, I'm sixteen," Andrea started to get herself to her feet, "I've got to go."

"You can stay in my basement, I'm sure it'll be better than wherever you are," Mike tried to offer.

"Sounds like... kidnapping," Seven made a face.

"It isn't. It's an offer. You'll get food and can lay low. I'm sure we can find some clothes too from Nancy without her noticing."

"She can't know... danger."

"It'll be our secret," Mike stood up and motioned for her to follow, "Come on. We can get you back there."

"I need to get my stuff from my old hideout," She sighed, "Can we swing by there? Or I can go alone and figure my way around."

"I'll take you," This little boy seemed to have some sort of hero complex, always wanting to help, "We can't let you get found."

"I enrolled myself in school. No one caught me," She simply shrugged.

"You're lucky," Mike walked alongside her, "If you don't mind... how different were your experiences than El's?"

Andrea kept walking, staying paced with Mike, "We did share a similar beginning for the most part, but as I aged... well it went very differently."

Very differently.

She couldn't remember a day after she began to comply and they truly learned her abilities that she went through the tests, the tubes, the water tubs, any of it. It all stopped. In a way, she had to grow up quicker. She had to help.

She had to be the person that was always put together. Always perfect. Helping the other numbers with whatever came about their minds or their training. Helping them with their fights or breaking them apart.

Her limits were learned. Her limits could be avoided. Training after training from a young age. The training that pushed everyone of the numbers to their limits. It was awful.

"Where to?" Mike questioned as the two got onto his bike.

"Some women's store by the IHOP," Seven spoke as she held onto him awkwardly.

The wind whipped through their faces as Mike pedaled the bike all the way to their destination. Taking the two through the roads of Hawkins while Andrea made sure to keep her face out of view from many of the stores after the government scare she had earlier.

"Wait here," Andrea threw herself off of the bike before looking back at Mike who nodded.

Seven slipped through the backdoor and managed to get herself in and out without being seen. Her school bag was now slung over her shoulder and the few things she had were shoved into it. It was her little go-bag.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

And the silence settled over the two. He began riding the two back to his home. Andrea's nerves were going haywire but she couldn't do anything about it at the moment. She needed to get somewhere out of sight before she could get upset at all.

She watched as the world passed by. The slight blur of nature and the cars they passed as they rode through the roadways of Hawkins. They took a few turns and drove down long roads before riding down a driveway and through the back of Mike's home.

She got off of his bike first, Mike following not too long after before he opened the door of the basement and allowed her in.

"You can stay down here. Just be careful of... that," Mike looked down at the fort with a longing gaze, "Please don't mess that up."

Andrea didn't think to ask questions, the topic seeming personal, "I won't. I'll be careful."

"Let me go find you some clothes. Judging by the cars outside Jonathan Byers is here. I think you know him."

"Jonathan? Oh, okay," Andrea gave a small nod before she settled down on Mike's couch.

"If you need anything, I'll be back soon," Mike went to move up the stairs but stopped once he looked at Andrea.

Andrea was shaking lightly as her eyes glided over the room. Her leg was bouncing anxiously. The environment was new to her. Everything was still new to her. She was a fugitive and she was only putting more and more people in danger and it was all her fault.

She couldn't be ungrateful for the help she received, but she couldn't abuse it. She didn't want to take it but she knew she needed help.

She just hoped everyone would forgive her in the end for anything that might happen.

"Hey, you're safe. I won't let anything happen to you," Mike looked at her, "You can trust me."

Seven's eyes fell back on the boy who wasn't much younger than she was, "Thank you."