Joyce POV:
I wait a few minutes before I see Hoppers car pull into my driveway. I smile when I see Eleven jump out of the car with him. I walk towards the door to open it. But when I do... I almost get a heart attack. All... they children are here....
-Boys!? What're you doing here? I ask as I motion for them to come inside, fast.
Jonathan follows shortly after.
-We saw Eleven and thought that we wanna join her on.... Dustin starts and looks at me, Hopper and Jonathan.
-Whatever you guys are doing, he finishes. Jonathan eyes me.
-Mom? What's going on? He asks. I sigh. Hopper looks at me and nods.
-Alright... Alright, I will tell you all about it- a loud note from my music player interrupts me. Everyone looks down the hall.
-If you sit down, I finish. All the boys, Eleven and Max, get seated on the couch and the living room floor.
-So whats up mom? You look like you've seen a ghost? Will asks. I sigh and look to Hopper.
-Alright.... So I was working my shift at the store. Suddenly a young girl comes running, wearing.... a hospital type gown, I say and look to Eleven. Her eyes shine with curiosity.
-I asked her what was wrong, and all she could say was 'bad men'... suddenly they all came bursting through the doors and I tried to make space under the desk to hide her there, but when I looked back? It wasn't a 14-15 year old girl anymore, I say.
-What? Max asks.
-That's insane! Lucas exclaims.
-She has turned into-or morphed, I don't know the terminology, I say and begin pacing on the floor.
-Into an old man that looked like he had escaped from the hospital. But her eyes... Her eyes stayed the same, I finish. I continue pacing and Jonathan quickly stands up to stop me. He smiles reassuringly at me.
-So what happened? Mike asks me.
-Did the bad men catch her? Dustin asks. I see a tear starting to form in Elevens eye.
-No. I started acting as if she was my old grandpa and pretended like I took him back to the hospital, I say.
-So where is she? Dustin asks. I sigh.
-I'm my room... with my radio, I say. Eleven quickly scrambled to her feet and is almost rushing down the hallway. Hopper quickly stops her and she struggles against him.
-Not so fast missy, he says and places her into the living room again. She glares at him.
-I need. To meet. Her, she says sternly.
-Not until Joyce says you can, he counters. She stops glaring at Hopper and turns to me. She quickly shows her wrist where the '11' is tattooed.
-Number? She asks. I nod.
-What is her number? She clarifies.
-'Eight', I say. She looks confused, but nods anyway.
-Should I..? I ask Hopper. He sighs.
-You might as well, he says and rubs his chin. I look to the children in front of me.
-You have to promise to not jump onto her. And don't ask to many questions, I think she has a speaking problem, I say.
-Like me and my teeth? Dustin asks and smiles with his gums. I smile.
-Not really... But something like that, I say and nod. He nods in happiness. I walk close to Hopper and mention for Jonathan to join us. He quickly obeys and we stand in a circle.
-I think she might've been abused... she can speak, but it takes a lot of effort to get the sound right, I clarify. They nod. I sigh as I look down the hallway to the slightly open door.Y/N POV:
I swing my feet to the music as Joyce comes into the room again. I smile at her.
-Come. There is someone I'd like you to meet, she says warily, putting me on edge.
-Issssssss it a b-b-bad mmman? I ask. She shakes her head.
-No, it's my friend. Remember, I told you about him? She asks. I nod hesitantly. She opens the door and mentions me to come out. I slowly walk out of the room and walk down the corridor and into the room with the sofa. But in the sofa we're a lot of people... that looked like me?
-Hello 'eight'. My name is Jim Hopper. I'm a police officer, a big man says and looks at me. He kneels down so he can look me easier in the eye.
-Y-Y/N, I clarify. He looks confused at me, then up at Joyce.
-My n-name is-is Y/N, I say. He looks back at me. He nods.
-Alright, Y/N... he says. I nod and smile.
-Is it ok if I ask you a few questions? He asks. I look at Joyce, who smiles reassuringly and nods. I look back at Hopper and nod. He gets me a chair for me to sit on. I look warily at the other children beside me. They were staring at me quite intensely.
-Did you run from the Hawkins lab? He asks. I shake my head.
-Bad men, I say. He sighs.
-Yes... did those bad men wear lab coats and did horrible things to you? He asks. I think to the people I ran from, before nodding. I nodded back.
-Thought so... He says and eyes Joyce.
-Hair... one of the kids beside me says. Everyone looks at her, including me.
-Why do you... have hair? She asks. I look confused at her. Then I remembered the bad men shaving off everyone's hair... but not mine. They said it was 'necessary' for the experiments.
-Hair... nec-necessary f-for Exp... Expe... I try to get the word, but I can't.
-For the experiments? Hopper finishes and I nod.
-What kind of experiments? He asks. I didn't want to try formulating another sentence by myself, it was hard. So instead I stand up from the chair and look intensely to the younger man in the room. He looks afraid at me. I once again feel my bones crack and some of my body parts disappearing and some of them reappearing. My muscles rearrange themselves to match a young man of his stature. And there I stand, a young man with a pink dress, black pants and a grey sweater. Everyone stares at me.
-Wow... that's so cool... I hear a boy say from the couch. I look back at Hopper and show him that my hair has changed to match his hair. It was short and parted in the middle.
-Necessary-y, I say and use my fingers to brush though the short hair. I quickly sit down and turn back to myself. Hopper makes a face I cannot explain.
-Alright... I understand... he says.
-I have to talk a bit to Joyce. Jonathan, take the questions from here, Hopper says and points to the young man I had turned into. He looked shocked but took Hoppers place quickly as they walked into the hallway. The kids immediately started talking, all at once, making me jump slightly.
-Hey... Hey! Jonathan manages to silence the ecstatic kids.
-Can I? The same girl from before asks. Jonathan sighs, but nods. The girl stands up and approaches me. I lean slightly back into my chair. She stops and holds out her wrist for me to see. '11' it says in bold black ink. I look at her before showing her my own number. She smiles and embraces me. But it wasn't for a bad intention... No. She did it... and it feels nice... Like a blanket. I put my arms awkwardly around her too, before she pulls away.The rest of the day was Jonathan handling the kids on who could ask me the next question. And everytime I answered, they all waited patiently for me to finish talking. I felt cared for and listened to.
-Could you turn into anyone? A boy asked me and smiles. He... didn't have any front teeth?
I look at him and furrow my brows.
-What? He asks confused.
-T-teethhhhh...? I ask and motion to my mouth.
-Ah. Well, long story short; I was born like this, he says. I nod.
-Well can you? Turn into anyone? Another boy asks. His skin was dark and he smiled brightly. I nod. They cheer.
-As-s long as-as I ca-can see-e all of t-them, I say slowly. The boy without teeth stands up.
-Do me! He says enthusiastically. I stand up in front of him. I look at him. Up and down, before I turn into him. My hair bounces up in curls and my front teeth retract. I look at his amazes features.
-Ok, that's... severely cool, he says in awe.
-Awesome! Another one of the boys says. I frown.
-What-at d-does aw... awes... awewesomee mean? I ask. I tried saying the word, but it didn't sound like he said it at all. The kid in front of me laughs slightly.
-Awesome? It means like... you're cool, he says and I feel myself smile.
-I'm c-cool? I ask and turn into myself again. He nods.
-Yeah! He says.
-Bu-but I can-n bar-barely ta-alk? I say, getting insecure about my speaking difficulties.
-Me neither. When I talk, I get something called a lisp. And that makes words I say sound funny, he says and smiles.
-Yeah! You can be cool with speaking difficulties! The girl with fiery orange hair says happily.
-I-I can? I ask.
-Yes! All the kids say in choir. I smile so brightly that it feels as if my jaw is breaking. The kid without teeth holds out a hand.
-My name is Dustin. Dustin Henderson, He says. I take his hand, unsure about what he is going to do with my hand in his. He begins shaking it softly.
-And I think that we are going to get along nicely! He says and pulls me in for another embrace. I quickly put my arms around him too.
-This is awesome. I've never met someone that has another speaking difficulty before! He whispers into my ear excitedly.
-I-is it-t awesommmme? I ask. He lets me go and looks at me.
-It's totally awesome! He says.
I smile at him and this time, I'm the one going in for the embrace. He laughs into my ear.
-Wha-at is-s thi-is ca-called? I ask.
-It's calles a hug. You do it when you're very happy or sad. Or just because you want one, Dustin explains.
-..... I l-like it... ver-very much-ch, I say and close my eyes.
-Me too... for someone who's never hugged anyone before, you're a surprisingly good hugger, Dustin says and we let go. With this new action in my muscle memory, I walk toward 11. I hug her. She hugs back and smiles at me as I let go.
-C'mon Eleven, Y/N... it's time to go home, Hopper comes out from the hallway and looks at us.
-H-home? I ask and look to Joyce.
-Yes. You're new home, she says and holds out a small bag for me to take. I take it. I look up at Hopper.
-Ne-new home? I ask.
-Yep. You're going to live with me and Eleven. Somewhere safe where no one can hurt you anymore, Hopper says. I can feel tears starting to form, happy tears, as I take a swift step towards Hopper and hug him around his chest.
-Thhhhhank you-ou, Hop-pper, I say as my tears stain his shirt.
-No problem, he laughs lightly and pats my head. He leads me outside into his vehicle and 11 sits next to me in the backseat.
I turn around to look out of the back window. I see Dustin standing on the driveway and waving excitedly at me as we drive away. I wave back and turn forward again.
-Let's go home... 11 says and grabs my hand. I smile at her. The bag from Joyce is laying in my lap, dry tears on my cheeks and 11's hand in mine.
-Home....

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Random x Reader one-shots
FanfictionRequests closed for the moment! Hey everyone! Read and enjoy! If you see any mishaps in the writing, I probably haven't seen it yet and will fix in the future. (Unedited)