Chapter 1: Calls.
Chapter Text
Miles doesn’t know how long he’s been staring out the window, but it must have been hours. The sky that once had been pitch black was starting to fade into the early morning. Miles was sitting in the passenger seat while Flora was in the back, he almost felt a sense of deja vu, only this time there was no arguing. He couldn’t believe they’d done it…they’d escaped.
Miles had looked back through the rearview mirror, catching a glance of Quint’s phantom lurking behind the gate. He’d been angry, angry that Miles had left, angry that he couldn’t have his way with Kate, angry because he’d lost control over them. That had made Miles freeze, if Kate and Flora hadn’t been freaking out and panicking, they would’ve seen the absolute fear in his eyes. The car ride for the most part had been silent, the radio softly playing, and nobody spoke.
Kate’s grip on the wheel hadn’t loosened and she hadn’t relaxed, her eyes frantically going from the rearview mirror to the road. Flora wasn’t any better, she’d curled herself into the backseats, making herself small. All of them were tired, and all of them were scared and on edge. Miles hadn’t missed the way Kate would glance back at Flora or how she’d look over at Miles. She was worried, clearly more worried about Flora, but still annoyingly worried.
She’d seen how he broke down in the bedroom, like hell he’d let her see him like that again. He was thankful that she’d gotten Flora and him out of the house, but that’s as far as his appreciation went. Miles knows that Flora was the only reason Kate hadn’t left him to rot, she would have left Miles alone with Quint. He stopped himself from thinking about the possibility of being stuck with him for eternity, Miles tried to shove that possibility into the darkest parts of his mind, but he couldn’t.
He would have lost complete control of himself, no longer being in charge of his own body. Miles would have died. He would have killed him.
“What’s gonna happen to us?” Flora’s voice broke through the silence, causing Miles to snap his head back. She was sitting up with her eyes casting down, picking at her fingers, looking tired and still fearful. At that moment, Miles wanted nothing more than to scoop his sister into his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay. But he couldn’t do that, how could he tell her that when he wasn’t sure what was waiting for them or what their fate would be? “I’m not sure, but…” Kate began, looking at Flora through the rearview mirror. “We can stop to get food? I’m sure we’re all hungry.” She tried smiling, Flora tried returning the smile. Kate sighed,” After that, we’ll head to my old apartment in the city. I’ll give my old roommate and your uncle a call while we’re at the dinner. I’ll figure out new living accommodations, okay?”
Flora nodded and Miles hummed, as long as he wasn't separated from Flora, everything would be fine, it’d be enough. His fingernails picked at his nail folds, he made sure blood wasn’t drawn. Soon after that, the city was bathed in sunrise emerging from the horizon. “Wow, It's pretty!” The little girl's eyes widened in wonder, a small smile creeping onto her face. He had to admit, it was a pretty site. “Maybe we should stay up to watch more sunsets, shouldn’t we Flora?” He smiled softly, Flora let out a small giggle and nodded. They may not be ok, but at least he was doing a good job of distracting her from that fact.
He turned his attention to the radio, leaning forward to change the song. Kate glanced at him but didn’t say or do anything, he flipped through stations till he found something he somewhat liked. About 10 minutes later, Kate pulled them into what he assumed was a parking lot. The building in front of them had a sign that read, “Mary’s Breakfast and Dinner, open 24 hours.”
Flora began to look excited, it was the first time she’d been anywhere outside of the Manor in years after all. “We’re gonna eat breakfast here, is that alright?” Kate asked, anxiously looking back and forth between both children.”Okay!” Flora gives her a slight grin, and Kate nods, turning towards Miles. They didn’t have many options, he seriously doubted that other places were open at this hour. “Ok.” He muttered he didn’t miss the way Kate sighed in relief, annoying.
Miles unbuckled his seatbelt, and quickly made his way out of the car. He opened the door for Flora as they waited on Kate. When she emerged from the car, seemed a bit more put together, her hair was less frizzy and she looked a little more relaxed while holding her purse. She began leading them towards the building with a payphone nearby, Miles following close behind with Flora holding his hand. The breakfast and dinner wasn’t much, there were a couple of tables and booths, the kitchen, and a register behind a counter.
They were quickly settled at a table near the window, handed menus by the waitress. His eyes scanned through the options, he almost wanted to laugh. The majority of the meals that were on there would have earned him some sort of scolding from Mrs.Grose, but she was dead now. Miles didn’t register when the waitress came back, the thing that brought him back to reality was the soft poke of Flora’s finger on his arm.
“What are you going to order Miles?” He felt another poke, both Kate and the waitress were staring at him. “Whatever you’re having!” He smiled, poking her back, earning a laugh from Flora. “And I’d also like a coffee.” He wasn’t going to get any sleep, that much was clear. The coffee would give him a bit of a boost, he’ll need the energy.
Flora was the first to get her drink, she ordered a lemonade. It turned out Kate had also ordered a coffee, as much as he disliked the governess, he couldn’t blame her for needing the energy. She’d been driving for most of the night.
Miles added a couple of Creamers and sugar to his coffee, he liked sweet stuff, sue him, he’d win anyway. After taking a couple of sips, he rested his head on his arms. His sister had occupied herself with drawing on the kids menu while Kate rummaged through the purse. After a minute, she pulled out a small slip of paper and a couple of quarters and dimes..” I’ll go make the calls now.” Kate began, Miles glanced up at her and Flora had stopped coloring. “Will you two be fine for a couple of minutes? I’ll be outside by the payphone near the entrance.” Flora went back to coloring,” We’ll be fine!” She chirped,” Sure.” Miles buried his face back into his arms. He heard the sound of Kate rising from her seat and walking towards the door.
Kate quickly made her way to the payphone, pulling out the coins from her pocket. She was thankful that Flora had calmed down and that Miles wasn’t being difficult, but how was she going to explain this to their uncle and Rose? If she told either of them the truth, they’d send her to the same mental hospital as her mother.
After a bit she came up with a believable excuse, Mrs.Grose had fallen from the second floor while cleaning, and the children had found the body. This added to the trauma from their parents' deaths, that it would be better for the children to leave the property. She’d panicked and left in a hurry without calling the police. It wasn’t solid but, hopefully, it’d be believable enough. She dialed the number labeled Henry Fairchild, anxiety eating at her as the phone rang. After a bit, someone picked up.”Hello? Who is this?” A male voice came through the speaker, Kate tried to swallow her nerves down.
“This is Kate Mandell, Flora’s governess.” She waited for recognition, and the voice over the phone hummed.
“There’s been an accident.”
“What kind of accident Miss Mandell?”
She took a deep breath,” While Mrs.Grose was cleaning, she fell from the second floor. She’s dead sir, the children found her body.” She proceeded to explain how they panicked and ran out of the house, how she’d taken them to calm down and eat a meal.
“I believe that a change in scenery would be good for them.”
He agreed, and they discussed her payment and the Fairchild siblings' new living accommodations. She was concerned about the size of the apartment, there wouldn’t be enough space for everyone. They’ll cross that bridge when they get there, he gave her guardianship over the kids. He didn’t even want to talk to them, Henry probably didn’t even pay much attention to the conversation.
After 10 minutes, she hung up. That was easier than she expected. Kate looked at the ground, and all that was left was Rose. She probably was still sleeping, she didn’t want to wake her up yet. Kate sighed, she’d call her later before they left, besides the food was almost ready.
She turned and walked back into the breakfast and dinner. Flora was still drawing, while Miles was taking a sip of his coffee. Both of them looked tired, Miles more than Flora. She probably wasn’t any better, but they all had quite a night. She got closer to the table, Miles snapped his head towards her, then proceeded to tell Flora that she was back. Flora gave Kate a small smile and waved at her, Kate gave her a little wave back.
“What did he say?” Miles asked, motioning towards the payphone outside. She sat down,” Well, he gave me custody. I’ll be taking care of you two from now on.” Flora seemed to light up while Mile’s expression neutralized, she then proceeded to explain the cover-up story, making sure both of them understood they had to stick to it. No one would believe them about the ghosts.” I didn’t get a chance to call my roommate, but I’ll call her after we eat okay?” Both of them nodded, they were being cooperative, which made her relax a bit more.
An omelet and two plates of pancakes were placed in front of them, along with some eggs and bacon. The sister poured syrup onto her plate while her brother spread butter, before drowning his pancakes. Flora talked about all kinds of things, Kate occasionally joined the conversation, and Miles only nodded. He’s been quiet, too quiet. After they finished eating, she told them to wait inside and use the bathroom if they needed to. She once again made her way to the payphone, no slip of paper in hand. By now, the run was rising
She dialed her number and waited. After a while, she heard a familiar voice that she missed. “Hello? Not to be rude or anything to whoever is on the other end but, why the fuck are you calling me at 6 in the morning?” A woman’s groggy voice rang in her ears, Kate felt a warm smile grow on her face. “Sorry Rose, I know how much you love sleeping in.”
The Phone went quiet for a bit,” Kate?” She laughed a happy, sad thing. “Yeah, it's me.” Squeals blast out of the phone,” It's been a while! Are you finally moving back yet?” Rose asked in a jokingly yet hopeful tone.
”Yeah, I am.” She smiled.
” Wait! Really? Like you’re actually moving back.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m calling about.”
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that!” She could tell Rose was beaming from her tone of voice, a warm feeling spread through Kate, and she couldn’t help but beam too.
“I was wondering if I could bring the kids too.” She bit her lip, she called to complain about the children on multiple occasions, so she knew that Rose’s opinion on the Fairchilds probably wasn’t a good one. “What, why?” She sounded confused and there was another emotion that she couldn’t decipher. “ They made your life a living hell, didn’t they?” Kate looked towards the Breakfast and dinner. “Rose listen, they’re not as bad as I made them out to be those first weeks. I got to know them a little bit better, Flora’s a sweet girl, but Miles. He’s a bit difficult but I’m sure he’s a good kid on the inside.”
“Hm.”
Kate could tell by the hum that Rose didn’t believe her, she inhaled sharply,” Rose, their caretaker just died, she had an accident while cleaning and fell from the second floor. They saw her body, and they couldn’t stay there anymore.” She felt bad for covering Mr.Grose’s death but Flora and Miles had seen the body despite her best attempts at shielding it from them. Not to mention previous trauma and events, she honestly felt bad for all their suffering. Rose had gone quiet.
“Oh god.” Rose sounded horrified. “Rose.” Kate’s voice softened. “Please let them stay at the apartment till we figure everything out, please Rose please.”, the phone went silent.
“Ok, they can stay as long as they need to. I really miss you, Kate.” Her voice finally came through, and the governess sighed in relief. “I miss you too Rose.” And she meant it, she wanted to be near Rose again. She missed how things used to be between them before she left for the Manor. After a couple more minutes of catching up, she hung up the phone.
Maybe Rose had been right, she never should have left the school.
Chapter 2: Rose.
Summary:
He looked out the window, the city seemed more alive and awake than it had in previous hours. It all still felt like a dream to him, that he’d just wake up in the Manor and be possessed again. Miles didn’t mind the cold when he was younger, but being possessed felt freezing. He doesn’t like the sun much, but it’ll keep him warm.
Notes:
This is doing better than I thought it’d do, so thank you all for reading! I have some chapters written already that are going under editing so I should have another chapter posted tomorrow. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Miles didn’t mean to fall asleep, it just happened. Maybe staying up all night along with the combination of a full stomach lulled him to sleep. The Coffee didn’t keep him awake like he hoped it would, thankfully the exhaustion made his sleep dreamless. No nightmares to interrupt his peaceful rest, no memories to make him cry.
When he woke up, his head was leaning against the window with his body curled into the passenger seat. The sun was shining down on his face, Miles squinted his eyes. The muffled voices of Flora and Kate becoming clear, he slowly stretched and yawned.
He looked out the window, the city seemed more alive and awake than it had in previous hours. It all still felt like a dream to him, that he’d just wake up in the Manor and be possessed again. Miles didn’t mind the cold when he was younger, but being possessed felt freezing. He doesn’t like the sun much, but it’ll keep him warm.
He didn’t know much about Kate’s “Roommate” they were going to stay with, so pressing Kate for information was probably the best option. “Miles you’re awake.” Kate glanced at him quickly before returning her eyes to the road, Flora finally seemed to take notice of him being awake. “Miles! Did you know that Kate’s Roommate’s name is Rose?” Flora started again, he didn’t know what his sister was talking about, he just forced a smile and nodded. He kept tapping his fingers on his leg, creating a rhythmic pattern.
“We’ll be there in ten minutes ok?” Kate announced, ten minutes till they met the famous Rose huh? Miles like always just hummed in response, staring out the window. Their voices were drowned out and it all went quiet, all that he was focused on was staring at the city buildings surrounding them. It's been a while since he passed through one, he’d forgotten how pretty yet revolting they were.
After going through multiple streets and smaller roads, they finally pulled into a set of apartment complexes. The entire place was way smaller than the garden back at Bly Manor, he smirked. Kate couldn’t afford much of anything, could she? He didn’t miss how happier Kate had been since the phone call, Rose probably means a lot to her. They stopped in front of a complex, Miles glanced at Kate. She turns to look at both of the siblings, “You guys ready to meet Rose?” Kate asked with a smile on her face, Flora eagerly nodded while Miles just shrugged.
Once again, they got out of the car and waited. Flora skipped up the stairs holding Kate's hand, Miles following right behind them. They stood in front of a door, Kate took a deep breath before knocking twice. The door quickly opened, and a woman with warm tan-like skin with long curly black hair, wearing a red button-up shirt with black leggings and brown boots stepped out. The second her eyes landed on Kate, she engulfed her into a hug.
“Kate!” She laughed.
“Rose!” Kate returned. A smile so big and bright on her face, it seemed like nothing could break it. Flora and Miles stood there awkwardly while they waited for the two friends to reunite, it seemed like they were in their own little world.
After a bit, Rose turned to them, “So you’re the rich kids who tricked Kate to jump in the pool, huh?”. Kate's smile faltered,” Rose!” Flora’s face immediately turned red as she sheepishly nodded, Miles’s eyes glared at Kate, a fake smile planted on his face. What exactly has Kate told her?
Rose smirked at them,” Looks like we’ll be roommates for a while huh? Let's make the most of it, shall we?” She extended a hand to each sibling. Flora nodded, happily shaking her hand. Miles' eye twitched as he quickly shook her hand, before pulling it back.
Kate ushered all of them into the apartment, Flora holding Miles’s hand as they walked inside. Both adults decided to give the kids a small tour, the apartment didn’t have much to offer really. All it had was a living room, a kitchen, one bathroom, a storage closet, and two bedrooms. It wasn’t very spacious and it would be hard to house two adults, a child, and a teenager all together in it.
Kate turned towards them as they finished showing the siblings around.“I know it's not a lot but, this will have to do for now. I’ll talk to your uncle about maybe getting a bigger apartment.” Miles just stared at her and Flora nodded, it seemed like Miles being quiet was his new normal. Besides he liked how Kate was racking her brain trying to figure him out, it was fun to watch. His sister let out a small yawn, Miles quickly turned his attention to her. “ You two will stay in my room till we figure everything out, why don’t you get some rest.” Miles nodded and picked Flora up, carrying her towards what Kate had pointed out as her room, and placed her on the bed. It didn’t take long for Flora to fall asleep, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He probably sat there for hours, quickly getting bored.
They were going to live in a shitty apartment with a fucking stranger and a governess that he hates, the universe just fucking hated Miles. It isn’t a secret that Kate and him don’t get along, he hates the nanny enough to mess with her during her stay at the Manor.
All of their stuff was left behind, his tarantula was going to starve to death because he couldn't feed her. But this beat being stuck with that abusive bastard, it was better than being possessed.
He turned towards the doorway, he can convince Kate to get them their stuff right? Looks like he was gonna have to play nice after all, their belongings are worth it.
He quietly made his way to the living room where he assumed Kate and Rose were, Miles could hear a quiet conversation take place. He lingered in the hallway,” Listen, I’m all for getting a new apartment, but moving out of state? Kate, I’m not sure about that.” Rose leaned against the wall, Kate was sitting quietly on the couch. “Their uncle is offering to pay, besides, a fresh start would be nice. Right?”
“You’ve been here for maybe a couple of hours and you want to move all of a sudden? Why? You just got back?”
“You wouldn’t understand-!”
“Well, maybe I’d understand if you would just tell me! Maybe explain everything!” She threw her hands in the air.
“Somethings bothering you Kate, ever since you moved into that Mansion you’ve been acting off! Your phone calls became weird, you’ve been acting weird. I have every fucking right to be worried about my best friend ok!” Rose’s voice began to rise, Kate flinched.
“I- ...You’re right Rose, it's just that everything is different now. I can’t explain what happened ok? I’ll tell you one day, but it isn’t today. I’m not asking for you to come with us if we move, I’m glad that you’re letting us stay. I could never ask you to just pick up everything and come with me” She looked down, and Miles noticed the way Rose softened.
“ I’m not going to force you to tell me what's going on, it's just you sprung this on me so quickly, how about we talk about this later ok?” She offered her a weak smile. Kate nodded,” You’re right, I’m sorry. I should think this through a bit longer, and consider more options”. They both sigh,” We good?” She smiles,” Yeah.”.
Miles knocked on the wall, and they both quickly turn to look at him. “Oh hey Miles, I thought you were sleeping?” He shook his head, “I slept during the car ride.” Miles stared at them.” Are you going to have someone bring our stuff here?” Kate froze, meanwhile Rose looked confused. “Miles.” Kate glared at him, he gave her an innocent smile. He knew that Kate didn’t want anyone to go back to the Manor due to the ghosts.
“I mean, if we’re gonna live with you, we’re gonna need our stuff right?”His smile grew at Kate’s discomfort,” Besides, My pet spider’s back at the Manor.” Rose’s eyes widened,” You have a pet spider.” Miles nodded,” I don’t know how long she can go without food, so Kate, will you call someone?” His voice and expression were as sweet as he could muster, the shit he does for their belongings. She sighed, Miles had a solid point, he knew he’d won. “ I’ll have someone bring your stuff over tomorrow, ask Flora what she wants from the Manor.” He smiled a sweet fake smile, before heading back to Kate’s room. He couldn't tell whether he had succeeded at playing nice or failed.
They’d get their stuff the next morning so that was good, he found a small notebook by the nightstand. He quickly began making a list of everything he wants and things that Flora will want as well, Miles will confirm with her when she wakes up. Another hour or two pass by and once again he is bored, Flora’s still asleep and he doesn’t want to deal with Kate. Looks like Rose was his only choice for company, he got back up and opened the door, once again walking through the hallways.
Miles found her lying on the couch, watching some show on the TV. She looked up and waved,” Hey.” He waved back, still standing in the hallway. “Since I don’t feel like cooking and Kate’s asleep, we’ll order Pizza.” Miles hadn’t had that in a while, he nodded. A confused look passed Rose’s face,” What was that little showdown you two had earlier, I mean, I know you two don’t get along. Both of you have made that clear.” His face hardened before a small smile formed,” She’s wrong about a lot of things, I just wanted to remind her of that.”
Rose frowned,” Okay. I know you messed with Kate at the Manor, I know all about the little pranks, but you can’t do that here. You don’t have to get along with her, just coexist with her. Do it for your sister because she seems to like her, and do it because she’s your new guardian.” She wasn’t exactly demanding this, but more like a passive-aggressive sugestión. Miles' smile became more forced,” No promises.”
She sighed,” Anyway, I think you and your sister would probably like a change of clothes. Since you guys left in a hurry, I’m offering to take you to get some till they bring the stuff over tomorrow, there are also spare towels if you guys want to shower.” He stared at her,” Flora’s still asleep.” Rose blinked,” Do you want to wait for her to wake up or go without her.”
He bit his cheek, he didn’t want to leave Flora alone but he knew she wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon, she was tired a needed a lot of sleep and rest. Miles exhaled,” Flora won’t wake up for a while, we can go without her.” Rose nodded before grabbing the keys to Kate's car, they walked out of the apartment, getting into Kate's car.
“Won’t she get mad at you for driving her car without asking her?” Rose waved her hand.”Nah we used to do this all the time.”
Miles decided that he probably was going to hate whatever clothes they were buying, something probably poor and cheap quality. Hopefully and most unlikely, the store might have some decent stuff.
He didn’t quite trust adults, specifically men. What was there to trust? Most adults were rotten and sick bastards who took advantage of children, he knew that too well. Some adults are generally nice and some that don’t care and just let you do what you want. Then there were the ones who were just bitchy. Kate and Rose were adults, he hated Kate, she was a bitch. But Rose? He didn’t know where she fell, so far she’s been nice to him, but it's only out of pity.
It was a short 15-minute ride, there wasn’t much talking. So far Rose seemed like a more tolerable person than Kate, he still didn’t like either of them though.
The store was a medium-sized building whose name he didn’t bother remembering, both of them quickly got out of the car and walked inside. The place seemed half decent, maybe they had good stuff?
Flora’s stuff was more important, so he headed to the girls' section first. He chose something that she’d normally wear at the Manor, Miles picked out a purple dress with black polka dots, some black tights, and a pack of underwear and socks. He stood there for a bit before picking up something that resembled one of her usual nightgowns.”You sure know your sister well.” Miles nodded,” She’s my sister, why wouldn’t I?” Rose raised her hands in defense,” Didn’t say it was bad or anything, it’s a nice mindset that’s all.” When he had to pick out an outfit for himself, he chose some black jeans and a pack of underwear and socks. He was looking for a sweater like the ones he normally wore, he eventually found one.
It was similar to the one he was currently wearing, it was red and it seemed soft, warm, comfortable, and durable. Plus, it had some differences from the one he was wearing in its way. It didn’t belong to the bastard and it was brand new. Quint’s sweater seemed to burn his skin like acid, stuck to him, not wanting to let go. The phantom had made him wear the fucking sweater back at the Manor, just another way to torment him. Miles added it to the pile. He threw in a soft black long-sleeve with some dark grey sweatpants.
The stuff was okay, better than what he’d been expecting.“You want to sleep on the ride back? You seem pretty tired.” He shook his head,” I’m fine.”
He noticed the toy section, maybe getting Flora a doll would cheer her up?
”Can we get Flora a doll so she won’t be bored?”He asked, Rose nodded.”Yeah, you pick something out too, okay?” Miles nodded. He saw a doll similar to what his sister had back at the Manor, long curly brown hair, blue eyes with rosy cheeks and red lips, a white dress with sunflowers, and some black shoes with stockings. She wasn’t porcelain, more like a type of plastic with a soft texture. The price seemed alright for the type of store it was, Rose was offering to pay for everything, and all Miles is doing is taking advantage.
He wandered off to another section, they seemed to be selling cassette tapes. He was trying to remember some songs Kate had played during their “little drive” to get a new koi, but it didn't go well. He liked them enough to be curious about them. He may dislike the governess, but maybe he didn’t dislike her taste in music. Miles tried remembering the lyrics to them, lyrics always were the titles of songs. He kept skimming through all the options, wanting to find the songs.
Cop car! That was it! He searched the shelf till he found what he was looking for, Cop car by Mitski. He’d never heard of her, maybe he should check out more of her music in the future? Now as for the other song…he couldn’t remember shit. It was by Girl in Red, that much he remembered from the name. He found a couple of songs but none of them fit what he was looking for, he ended up settling for ‘Kate’s not here’. It might be the song, but even if it wasn’t, he liked the name already. His walkman would arrive tomorrow, he could listen to them then.
Rose was waiting for him with a basket containing Flora’s clothes and the doll, Miles walked over to her, declaring they were done shopping. He put the tapes into the basket and she looked at him, “You listen to Girl in Red?” She asked, squinting and confused. He blinked, was there something wrong with her music?” I’m trying something new.” Miles replied, confused at Rose’s reaction. She hummed,” I listen to her sometimes, I was just curious that's all.” She looked at the other tape.”Mitski huh? Her music’s good, you should check out her song ‘Francis Forever’.” He just nodded, not knowing what to do or say.
The ride back was awkward, for the most part, Miles just zoned out. He didn’t know what to say, when they arrived, Rose helped him carry the bags upstairs.
Kate and Flora were still asleep when they got back, Rose ordered the pizzas. Miles sat on the edge of the bed looking at his sister, Kate had mentioned something about moving. God, what had his life come to? Did he seriously have this little control over everything?
He took a deep breath, moving wouldn't be so bad after all right? There would be more space between them and Quint, and all of the bad things would stay in the past. Miles exhaled shakily, as long as he had Flora things would be fine. He would be fine, he has to be fine.
Notes:
So you might be wondering, why is Mitski and Girl in red in this fic if it takes place in the 80s? Since The Turning takes place in 1994 and Stranger Things season four in 1986, I thought I might add music that’s cannon in The Turning to the fic. Both Mitski and Girl in red have songs that are in The Turning sound track and exist in the universe of The Turning so that’ll transfer to this fic. Cop car plays during the scene where Kate attempts to take the kids for a drive. I hope you liked the chapter!
Chapter 3: Pizza.
Summary:
Ever since they left the Manor, he's been acting off. More than usual, or at least what she's deemed as usual. Part of his cocky and rude attitude was gone, replaced by an almost tired and dead looking kid. Sure his actions and remarks at the Manor have been very questionable but, she still felt worried about the kid.
Something's wrong with Miles.
Notes:
Hi! Sorry I keep posting over and over, this one’s kind of short and so are the next few. In case you’re wondering when we’ll get see Stranger Things come into play it’s Chapter 6. Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
She didn't know what to think of the kids really, Rose was happy that Kate moved back, even though she brought the rich orphans along. She hadn't interacted much with Flora, but it seemed like Kate was right about her being a sweet girl. As for Miles, she knows about all the shitty pranks and torments the teen had put her roommate through, so she was confused when Kate defended said so teen. Rose swears that Kate is too nice and forgiving for her own good.
Then she found out about the caretaker's death and felt bad, and now Kate wants a fresh start. Rose would move the stars if Kate asked her to, don't get her wrong, she was fine with the move it just caught her off-guard. Kate and Miles have their issues, that much is obvious. But Miles is still a mystery to her, from what she’s been told, he has some attitude issues but he’s been nothing but quiet. He has good taste in music, she’ll give him that.
He seems to care a lot about his sister, he’s a good brother from what she’s seen. She had helped the teen carry the newly bought items to Kate’s room, he’d was stopped halfway and mumbled a small thank you. Wow, a rich kid said thank you. Didn’t know they could do that. She quickly ordered three pizzas, one cheese, one pepperoni, and one Hawaiian. She didn’t know what pizza the siblings liked best so she picked the more popular options.
Rose made her way to her room, she quietly opened the door. Kate was sprawled on the bed, she looked peaceful. She sat at the edge, Kate’s had a rough couple of months. She must have been tired after driving all night, Rose couldn’t blame her. She wishes Kate never took the damn job, it only brought problems to her life. Rose wasn’t stupid either, something had happened in that Manor, something that no one was telling her and it wasn’t the caretaker's death. Something was off about everyone, hell! She noticed how even Miles was on edge.
The pizza was gonna arrive soon, she gently shook her.”Wakey wakey Katey.” Rose grinned. Kate slowly opened her eyes, her face contorted in confusion. “I ordered Pizza and took Mr. Teen rich boy out to buy something for him and his sister. Come on, get up! You’ve been sleeping all day!” She attempted to drag her out of bed,” Okay! Okay! I’ll get up.” She laughed.
Rose’s chest felt fuzzy, she helped her up.”I’ll go see what the rich kids are doing, the pizza’s here in 10.” She got up, leaving a sleepy Kate behind. She wished she could spend all day with her.
Rose knocked on the door,” You can come in.” Miles answered. When she entered the room, Miles was sitting at the edge of the bed, his shoes sitting by the frame. He was holding a small notebook, Miles looked tired.
His head turned towards her.
“Hey.”
“...Hey.”
She awkwardly stood by the door,” Food’s almost here so, you might wanna wake your side sister up.” He nodded,” I will.” She returned the gesture before closing the door. Now all that was left is just to sit around and wait.
If Kate didn't know any better, she'd mistaken Miles for a walking corpse. The kid looked dead tired, his kept eyes dropping and he was paler than usual. He’d slept for about an hour and a half in the car, but that did nothing to restore his energy.
He’d almost jumped out of his skin when the doorbell rang because he’d begun to fall asleep while standing, he looked like he was a second from collapsing in his seat. “Flora what pizzas would you like and how many slices?” Rose asked, placing plates in front of everyone. She looked down sheepishly,” I've never had pizza before.”
The older woman frowned,” How about I give you a small slice of each so you know which you like best, how does that sound?”. Flora grinned and nodded, Rose turned to Miles. “How about you?” He stared at his plate,” One pepperoni and one cheese…please?”. She nodded, “Gotcha.”
Then she turned towards Kate,” How about you roomie?”She grinned. Kate laughed,” The usual, you know that.” Rose smiled, placing a slice of cheese and Hawaiian on her plate. Flora stared at the plate for a bit before picking up the cheese slice and taking a bite, her face immediately changed into one of delight. Miles smiled, “It's good isn't it?” She nodded as she finished the slice, “I liked it.” She smiled as she picked up the pepperoni slice next.
Flora ended up being the first one done eating, declaring that she'd liked all of the slices equally. Miles quickly finished, excusing himself and heading back to the room.
Ever since they left the Manor, he's been acting off. More than usual, or at least what she's deemed as usual. Part of his cocky and rude attitude was gone, replaced by an almost tired and dead-looking kid. Sure his actions and remarks at the Manor have been very questionable but, she still felt worried about the kid.
Something's wrong with Miles.
Notes:
:D
Chapter 4: Sleep.
Summary:
When he looks up into the mirror, his eyes are red and blotchy, his cheeks still wet from the tears. The bags under his eyes look like they wouldn't be fading anytime soon, his face looks like a mess. He looks like a ghost, how fitting.
Chapter Text
He placed the change of clothes on the counter while the water warmed up. Miles pressed his hands against his face, he hated that he felt so tired. Was it because at the Manor he didn't have control over his body most of the time that he hadn't noticed just how much energy was being drained? That Quint controlling his body had taken a toll on him? If that was the case, then it’d explain why Miles felt and looked this way.
He’d feel better after a shower, he always felt better after a shower. He slowly took off the sweater, Miles looked down at it, it wasn't his. The sweater was Quint’s and he had the overwhelming urge to destroy it. He quickly looked through the drawers and cabinets till he found what he was looking for, scissors. Miles brought them up to the sweater and, snip!
That one snip turned into more as he proceeded to shred and tear the cursed article of clothing apart. He began using his own hands to rip the sweater and didn't stop till he ran out of strength to keep going. His teeth were clenched and he was out of breath, something wet was on his face. He didn't want to think about what he had done to Ms. Jesse and Ms.Grose, to him. He deserved to die the way he did.
When he’d found out how Quint had died, something about it had seemed off. On Miles’s first night back from the boarding school, Mrs.Grose had given him one look and Miles had known his death wasn’t an accident, he’d given her a look back. There was a mutual agreement never to speak about Quints actual cause of death and that things would be better without him. Oh now he wishes things had been better but for him they’d only gotten worse.
Miles brought a hand up to his cheek, oh he was crying. He wiped the tears with the bottom of his hand, he can’t be crying, he needs to be strong for Flora. He tossed the sweater in the trash and covered it with toilet paper, hopefully, no one would find it, at least not for a bit.
When he looks up and into the mirror, his eyes are red and blotchy, his cheeks still wet from the tears. The bags under his eyes look like they wouldn't be fading anytime soon, his face looks like a mess. He looks like a ghost, how fitting.
The water felt comforting against his skin, his fingers massaging his scalp. This was the nicest he'd felt in a while, the water was warming him up. Maybe living with Kate and Rose wouldn't be so bad. He’ll get his pet spider and all his stuff soon, he'll be far away from the Manor. He sighed, it'll be fine.
The shirt and sweatpants fit nicely, he judged the store’s quality too quickly. The shirt fell past his waist and the sweatpants fell at his ankles, it was perfect. He dried off his hair with the towel till it looked decent enough. Miles looked better, he looked more alive. Still felt and looked a bit like shit.
When he got back to the room, he protectively wrapped his arms around Flora who was asleep. He felt himself drift into unconsciousness, he just wanted to sleep.
Kate had shared a bed with Rose before but never in the history of them being friends had they ended up in this position, was Rose trying to kill her? Her face was burning at the feeling of her friend's arms wrapped around her waist, she was trying very hard not to concentrate on the fact that Rose’s face was buried into her shoulder. God she felt like a stupid high school girl, the way her heart was beating, she felt like she was gonna die.
Sure she knew that she probably had a tiny, little, innocent crush on her roommate. She thought the feelings had faded away but no, they were still there and had grown stronger. Kate wasn’t gonna deny that she was somewhat enjoying this, but her heart was paying the price. After a while, Rose began to move. She slowly opened her eyes, her arms slightly loosening.
Rose let out a muffled morning, Kate tried her hardest to relax, but it wasn’t working. “Morning to you too Rose.” She tried keeping her voice steady. “What’s for breakfast?” She asked, Kate laughed.”I don’t know, I haven’t been able to cook anything since you won’t let go of me.” Rose’s eyes snap wide open and lets go immediately,” Sorry about that, I uh…” She trailed off, Kate was already missing her warmth. “It's fine don’t worry about it, I didn’t hate it you know.” She sat up, stretching. “I’ll go make breakfast, can you wake the kids up when I’m done.” Rose nodded, as she left the room she could have sworn she muttered something about not fucking things up. What did she mean by that?
Notes:
Sorry for the short chapter, this is my last pre-written chapter I’m working on the next one right now and hopefully it’ll be longer. Hope you enjoyed!
Chapter 5: Planning.
Summary:
Over the course of several days of staying with the governess and Rose, Miles had come to learn just how boring the apartment could be. He was glad that he’d gotten his stuff on his second day outside the manor because if he didn’t have anything to entertain him, boredom would have killed him for sure. He’d given specific instructions to the man on the phone on how to deal with their stuff and his tarantula, he didn’t want her to get hurt. And he also didn’t want any of their things to get damaged, their belonging were all either of the siblings fully owned.
Notes:
So it’s been a while and I’m sorry for the lack of updates but I’m here now and made this chapter longer than the last two! I’m currently working on chapter six and we’ll finally get the stranger things gang! I hope you like the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Over the course of several days of staying with the governess and Rose, Miles had come to learn just how boring the apartment could be. He was glad that he’d gotten his stuff on his second day outside the manor because if he didn’t have anything to entertain him, boredom would have killed him for sure. He’d given specific instructions to the man on the phone on how to deal with their stuff and his tarantula, he didn’t want her to get hurt. And he also didn’t want any of their things to get damaged, their belongings were all either of the siblings fully owned. The things that Rose got them could be taken away at any time.
Kate had been surprised when her belongings were also delivered, but nevertheless, she was happy about it. Flora was content with the doll Miles had chosen for her and had happily added her to the collection. All of the boxes were sitting stacked against the wall, ready to be shoved into a moving truck.
She was getting better, slowly but surely. She smiled and laughed more often, she asked Miles to play dolls with her, and even had began socializing more with Rose. It seemed like Kate had also begun noticing the difference in her behavior. Flora was happy and that was all that mattered.
He was doing…better? Well at least better than the day they fled the Manor, he didn’t feel as tired anymore which was good, as good as it could get with being an insomniac. He has Arachne back which he was happy about, he’d personally gone out of his way to meet the workers and checked that she was ok and that her stuff was in good condition. He’s had her for about three years now, she’s still a baby and he wants her to reach her max life expectancy. He still remembers the excitement he’d felt when he’d gotten her on his twelfth birthday, how she was going to be his best friend and how he’d take care of her and love her forever. He’d named her after a Greek myth due to his Greek mythology obsession at the time and it being the only myth with a spider involved that he knew, a woman who had thought herself above the gods and was punished for it . Of course he eventually realizes that he could have named her something better but the name had stuck. She had been one of the last things Miles was gifted by his parents before the car accident.
He’d almost bursted out laughing when he saw the look on Rose’s face when she saw the terrarium, he swore her eyes were bulging out of her skull. Flora of course had greeted Arachne and had encouraged Kate and Rose to do the same. He’d cleared the top of one of Kate’s dressers to place the terrarium, Miles had fed her 2 crickets just in case she was hungry from being by herself for basically two days. Besides that, he hadn’t unpacked his things. He hadn’t forgotten the conversation he eavesdropped on, there was still a chance they were moving and didn’t want to repack everything. He even had the workers take his drum set apart so he could still take them with him wherever they moved to. He wasn’t leaving either of his instruments behind, he’d spent years learning to play them.
Miles was currently crouched down on the floor, digging through the boxes, trying to find his Walkman. After about ten minutes of searching, he finally found it. He smiles and sits down on his bed, he inserted the cassette into the Walkman and put the headphones over his ears and pressed play. The song was different from what he remembered and what he normally listened to, it was surprisingly nice, the lyrics were interesting. He was so focused on the song he didn’t notice Kate walk in.
“Miles?” He didn’t answer, still staring off into space. “Miles!” She spoke a little louder, trying to get his attention. He removed the headphones and looked at her annoyed, “Yeah? What do you want?” She sighed, Miles had gone back to acting like his usual self again, which meant that his attitude was back to its peak. Miles notices she was holding something behind her, “Miles I need to talk to you about something-“
“That we might move? I know that already.” Maybe if he threw her off guard then maybe they wouldn’t have to talk about what she was hiding behind her because he had a pretty good idea of what it was.
She looked surprised then confused,” How do you know about that?” Miles looks at the headphones in his hands before looking up at her and smiling. ”You two weren’t exactly quiet when you were arguing about leaving the state so it wasn’t hard to hear what you were talking about, it was pretty funny to be honest. Though you could’ve woken up Flora.” She frowned at him, He’d gone back to purposely taunting her and that smile was surely meant to irritate her.
“I don’t mean that, what I want to know however is why this was sitting in the trash all torn up and in pieces.” Just as Miles feared, she revealed what remained of the red sweater. Why did she care? It wasn’t any of her business what he did with it, it's not like it's hers. Quint’s dead and stuck at the Manor, he can’t torment Miles with it anymore. “I put it where it belongs.” He replied, rolling her eyes at her.
“Miles, I thought you liked that sweater, and it was in good condition, why did you do this to it?” His smile begun to falter,” Rose got me a new one, I don’t need it anymore.” Why couldn’t she take a hint? Why couldn’t she understand that Miles didn’t want to talk to her anymore and that he didn’t want the piece of shit? “You can’t just destroy your clothes just because you got new ones, you’re wasting material and money.” All traces of his smile were gone as he glared at her “It’s not mine, it was Quint’s and I don’t want it.”. His eyes narrowed, and this tone of voice was cold and empty, making it obvious he was done with the conversation. He was having a good day. Why did Kate have to ruin that? Why did she have to ruin everything?
She was taken back, her arm dropped to her side. She opened her mouth as if to say something and closed it again. They just stared at each other in silence, wondering who’d back down first. After a while, Kate looked away. “Next time, throw something you don’t like in the kitchen's trash can, ok?” His expression didn’t change,'' Ok.” Miles put the headphones back on as Kate left the room. Looks like he won again.
“It just doesn’t make any sense.” Kate sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “What doesn’t make sense?” Rose asked, taking an apple from the fridge. Kate threw the sweater in the trash, Rose squinted as she took a bite. “Isn’t that the kid's sweater, how did it get like that?” She looked at her, “He destroyed it himself. Kate doesn’t understand, it's like Miles is contradicting himself. Back at the Manor he spoke of Quint as if he was his best friend and was almost always wearing the dead man's sweater, it doesn’t make any sense that he’d willingly destroy it. Quint’s spirit had been tormenting her and forcing the children to stay at the manor, he’d been keeping Miles from leaving but Kate had changed that. Maybe he destroyed it out of resentment and feeling betrayed? Still, it felt like there was more to it than that, she wasn’t seeing the whole picture.
“Why would he do that?” Rose asked she’s known the kid for a couple of days, and from what she’s seen, he doesn’t seem like the type to destroy his belongings. He’s been taking great care of all the stuff that had been delivered from the manor. Hell, he’s been treating the fucking tarantula like a fucking princess. Kate began washing the dishes, “He has his reasons, whatever they are.” She glanced at Flora who was in the living room watching some cartoon while playing with her dolls. “I’m just worried about him.” Her roommate raised an eyebrow, “Really?” She nodded, “He’s just been acting off.” Whatever went down in the manor wasn’t letting go of him. Rose threw the core into the trash,” He seems like a strong kid, whatever he’s going through, he’ll get over it.” Kate laughed,” Looks like someone’s already warming up.” she rolled her eyes,” Miles is alright, as long as he doesn’t pull any of the shit he did at the manor, he’s good in my book.”
Kate looked at Flora again before setting the last dish on the drying rack,” Do you think we should tell them about the move yet?” Henry had gotten them a nice house to live in, bills included, it would be big enough for the four of them. Both of the children would have their own rooms, and so would Kate and Rose sadly. Her paycheck had gone up and was way higher than what she’d been paid before as just a governess. “Rose focused her gaze on Flora,” We should tell them today during dinner, the faster we get packing, the faster we can move. Besides, I’m excited about the house.” She smiled, and Kate nodded.” Ok, it's settled then. We’ll tell them tonight”
Miles would be a liar if he said he didn’t expect this conversation to happen, he knew it was coming eventually. He wasn’t surprised when Kate and Rose kept glancing at each other during dinner, both silently agreeing to talk about something. Kate already knew that he knew, Flora’s the only one left out. The governess placed both of her hands on the table in a serious manner, “So I think we all know the apartment is too small for all of us to live in, and I’ve been talking with your uncle about this.” She took a deep breath,” I was thinking that a fresh start would be good for us, and so does your uncle, he brought us a house in California. If we start packing this week,we’ll get there by the 11th.” Kate waited for their response,” Ok.” What did she want him to say? He’s fine with the move, he isn’t against it. If Miles was ok with it, then Flora would be as well. It makes it easier for her.
Kate smiled and turned to face Flora, the girl stared at her for a bit before looking up at Miles. When he gave her a subtle nod, she turned to the governess and smiled,” What color is the house?”. Rose lets out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding in, glad that neither of them had put up a fight.
After they finished dinner, they spent the rest of the night planning the trip and agreed that they’d start packing tomorrow. And that night when Miles was lying on the bed, he felt terrified. Their lives were out of their hands, he didn’t know what the rest of his life would be like, he didn’t know his future. He didn’t know how life was gonna be where they were moving, he didn’t know how he was gonna protect Flora in this new life of theirs but he’ll fight tooth and nail to keep his sister safe. Miles will never let anything happen to her again. Tomorrow he’ll help his sister pack and tell her how exciting it is to ride a train. She'd been happy when Kate announced that they’d take a train to California instead of an airplane, Flora’s scared of heights. Miles’s things are practically ready to go so that should be easy, he’d have to help the adults pack as well unfortunately, he’ll play nice for Flora’s sake.
He quietly got off the bed, tip-toeing to the window. He opened it, letting the cool air in. Miles stuck his head out the window, his curls blowing in the wind. The other apartments were blocking the view to the sky, maybe in the new house he’ll be able to see the stars.
The week quickly flew by with packing, packing, and more packing. Who knew such a small apartment could how so many things? The train ride had been exciting to Flora, Miles had smiled when Flora would point out all the things she liked outside the windows. For the most part, he spent the trip talking to her, reading with the walkman on, or sleeping, with the occasional meal. The trip was over a day, and by the time they’d arrived at the station in LAX, he’d gotten used to the sound of the tracks. He was gonna miss them. The farther the train had gotten from New York, the more free he felt. He’ll be fine, and this time he kind of believed it.
Notes:
Miles likes trains fight me! Jk jk, let’s see how The Turning gang deals with living in Lenora. :D hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Chapter 6: Neighbors
Summary:
The Byers had been the last to move into the neighborhood, it appears someone else has taken the title. “We should go and welcome them, we aren’t really close to any of our current neighbors. It’d be nice to have some friends in the neighborhood right, kids?” El and Will exchanged glances, “New friends sounds nice.” El smiled and her brother nodded, maybe they had kids their age. If they did, then maybe they could become friends and El would have someone to talk to at school. Angela’s torment hadn’t done his sister’s social life any favors.
Notes:
Hey so it's been a while since the last update, and I apologize for that, been busy with family and stuff. But here is a new chapter :D Stranger things character have finally made their appearances! I've gone back and fixed grammatical errors and changed some dialogue. If you want to go back and read the changes and added stuff you can! I hope you enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Joyce had been the first to notice the moving trucks, she had just finished talking to a client on the phone when she saw them drive by. “Will, did someone buy the house down the street? I can’t remember.” He looked away from the movie El and he were watching,” Yeah someone bought it about a week ago or so, why?” She kept her gaze on the truck as it parked in the driveway,” Someone’s moving in, there’s some moving trucks outside the house.”
The Byers had been the last to move into the neighborhood, it appears someone else has taken the title. “We should go and welcome them, we aren’t really close to any of our current neighbors. It’d be nice to have some friends in the neighborhood right, kids?” El and Will exchanged glances, “New friends sounds nice.” El smiled and her brother nodded, maybe they had kids their age. If they did, then maybe they could become friends and El would have someone to talk to at school. Angela’s torment hadn’t done his sister’s social life any favors.
“Let’s go over there and invite them to dinner tomorrow, it's a good way to welcome them and get to know them!” She clapped her hands together before pushing the teens to get off the couch and out the door. “Now out we go!”
It didn’t take them long to reach the house, it was just right down the street. When they got there, they saw a nice-looking blonde young woman dressed in a red coat talking to one of the moving guys,’ she’s probably the owner’ Will thought to himself. El looked nervous but Joyce had no problem going up to her, she waited till the moving guy had finished talking and gone back to his job before saying anything. “Hi, I’m Joyce Byers! Couldn’t help but notice we have a new neighbor and wanted to stop by and say hello, we’re just down the street.” She pointed to their house.
Now that they were closer, Will managed to get a good look at her. She had light blonde hair that was above her shoulders and nice blue eyes. She seemed kind, he hoped she was. “Oh hi, I’m Kate Mandell. It’s nice to meet you.” They shook hands, “Thank you for saying hi, it’s nice to know there are some friendly neighbors here.” She smiled, Joyce nodded. “These are two of my three kids, come on! Don’t be shy.” She motioned El and him towards Kate, thankfully El volunteered to go first. “I’m Jane, it’s nice to meet you Ms.Mandell” His sister smiled and extended her hand, Kate shook it. “It’s nice to meet you too Jane, and please call me Kate”. It was his turn now, he stepped forward.” I’m Will, it's a pleasure to meet you.” She also shook his hand, and smiled just like she’d done with El.” It’s nice to meet you Will.”
She seemed to realize something suddenly,” One of the kids I’m in charge of is around your age, maybe you two will get along with him.” Joyce seemed confused and also surprised.”In charge of?”
“I’m the legal guardian of a pair of siblings, their uncle and I thought they could use a fresh start so we moved here. My roommate decided to come along as well.” She motioned to a space next to one of the moving trucks,” She took them to get groceries and Pizza, so they won’t be back for a while.” Joyce nodded, taking that all in. Looks like he hoped right, the new neighbors had someone their age.”Did they go to Surf Boy Pizza?” Kate was taken aback,” Yeah, how’d you know.”?
“My oldest son who’s not here right now, his friend works there and they have good pizza, you’ll love it.” Will lost track of how long they chatted, he and El were left to attend to their own devices till the conversation was over. “The four of you should come over to dinner tomorrow, it'd be a welcoming to the neighborhood and a nice way to get to know each other better and be friends.” Joyce smiled.
”You sure it won't be a bother?”
“We’d be more than happy to have you over for dinner, it'll be fun and a wonderful opportunity for the kids to get to know each other.”
“Alright, what time works for you?”
“How about seven?”
“It works for me!”
“Any allergies?”
“No, I don't think so.”
Everyone could tell that the conversation was over and that goodbyes came next, part of Will felt relieved. It’d been an awkward yet progressive first meeting with one of the new neighbors, and he was more than ready to go home and finish the movie he’d been watching with his sister.
They exchanged goodbyes and Kate went back to helping the movers with the boxes. Will couldn't help but wonder about the rest of the neighbors that he had yet to meet, Kate said there was a boy his age right? What was he like? Is he an asshole or a nice guy? Maybe he could make a friend in Lorena after all and hopefully, El could also gain a friend too.“Joyce, what are we making for dinner tomorrow?” El’s voice snapped him out of thought, “Do spaghetti and meatballs sound good?” They both nodded, it was a good choice, who doesn’t like spaghetti?
Grocery shopping is more boring than he thought it’d be, he should have stayed at the house. But, then he’d have to help Kate and the movers. He takes it back, this doesn’t seem as boring anymore. He tapped his fingers on the handle. Miles sighed, he was in charge of pushing the stupid cart while Flora and Rose grabbed the things off the shelves and filled it. What was the point of grocery shopping today if they were just gonna eat pizza for dinner? The logical part of his brain told him that if groceries weren't bought today, there wouldn't be anything to cook breakfast in the morning. He groaned, fuck he hated this, this is why they had Mrs.Grose and delivery boys for food and ingredients.
“Miles, anything you want in particular?” He looked over at Rose with a questioning look. “Flora chose cookies, I chose chips and got oranges for Kate. Do you want to choose something?” He thought for a second, “Do they sell pop tarts here?” Rose nodded,” Specific flavor?” It was his turn to nod,” Strawberry.” Rose turned around,” I’ll go get them, you two stay here.” Miles and Flora watched her disappear down the aisle, he looked at his sister. “Do you like the house?” It had been obvious both of them had been wanting to talk about it but hadn’t been given an opportunity, he wanted to know her opinion because it was the only one that mattered.
She was quiet for a bit,” I like it, it’s…small but nice.” She gave him a small smile,” I like my room, it’s not as big as the old one…but, I like the color!” He smiled, “It’s pink, right?” She nodded, “A light pink.” He could tell that she liked the new room's color better than the one at the Manor, the color champaign isn’t really popular with little girls.
“ What color is your room Miles? I didn’t get a chance to look at it .”
“It’s Blue.”
“What kind of blue?”
“Navy blue.”
She looked at him,” Do you like it?”. Mikes hummed, he wasn’t sure yet. It was different from the light blue-grayish color one at the Manor.“ It's alright, I… like it.” Rose walking back with the glorious pop-tarts and two loaves of bread in hand caught his gaze, he turned towards her, and the conversation was over.
“Come on, we're going to the register.” Finally! He sighed and began pushing the cart, Flora quickly followed behind Rose. Luckily for them, there wasn’t much of a line and the cashier quickly bagged their things, and of course, Miles had to help carry everything back to the car. Flora got to carry the cookies. They quickly picked up the pizza before heading back, he didn’t even want to think about the hell unpacking was gonna be.
“I met some of our new neighbors today while you three were out,” Kate announced after taking a bite of her pizza, Rose looked at her. “ What were they like?” Miles' gaze turned towards her, “ They were nice, they were from the house right down the street. A mother and two of her three kids.” She smiled, “They invited us to dinner tomorrow, so no worrying about that.” It was Rose’s turn to take a bite,” How nice of them.” Flora and Miles glanced at each other, she didn’t do well with new people unless she liked them. He sent her a look, ‘Don’t worry, I'll be with you the whole time. It'll be ok.’ They held each other’s gaze for a few seconds before she nodded and they turned their attention back to the adults.
“I almost forgot, she had two kids your age. Maybe you’ll make some new friends, Miles.” He frowned slightly and looked at his plate, yeah no, there's no way he'll get along with some stupid kids. He eats his pepperoni slice,” I hope not.” He muttered, “What was that?”Rose asked. He gave her a fake smile, “ I said I hope so.” he responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm and mockery. She rolled his eyes at him. “Miles, just please, be nice to the poor kids.”
“No promises.” She raised a brow, “Is that like your catchphrase or something?”, he shrugged. Flora looked over at the boxes that were stacked in the living room, “ Are we gonna start unpacking tomorrow ?” Kate followed her gaze, “ Yeah, and by the looks of it, there's lots to be done.”
They decided to sleep in the living room, Kate set up two inflatable beds. One for the Fairchilds and one for the roommates. He wasn't looking forward to tomorrow for many reasons, he didn't want to unpack, he didn't want to go meet and have dinner with their new “nice” neighbors and he DIDN’T want to befriend some fucking children who were “hIs AgE”. He was perfectly fine friendless thank you, he's been friendless for most of his life and he doesn't want friends now. He has Flora and Arachne and that's enough. Besides, he hates people and stupidity, most people are stupid. On the bright side, he gets to set up his room tomorrow after he helps Flora with hers. It’ll be nice to play his drums again after getting them set up.
Hours passed and he couldn't sleep, Kate and Rose had passed out before their heads hit the pillow due to exhaustion and Flora had been quick to follow. He sighed as the clock read 1:57, he was so tired, Miles just wanted rest. He was even used to this different timezone, it was 4:57 for them and the lack of sleep was burning his eyes. God, why did life hate him so much? Even if he falls asleep, nightmares and misery will be waiting for him on the other side. Miles held Flora closer, he just wanted everything to be ok, why won't the universe grant him that?
Notes:
Miles is fine! Jk he’ll suffer more. The boys will meet next chapter! See you guys next update!
Chapter 7: Dinner.
Summary:
The first thing Miles heard after waking up, brushing his teeth, changing, and walking into their new kitchen was, “ You look like shit.” Which earned a glare from Mikes and Kate, “ Rose you can’t say stuff like that.” The governess elbowed her friend, “ What? It’s not like he hasn’t heard curse words before, he’s like thirteen right?”
“I’m fifteen.” He muttered, not adding anything that might make the situation worse. If looks could kill, Rose would be dead already. Kate poured some coffee into a mug and passed it to Rose, “ When did you set up the coffee maker?” He rubbed his eyes, he clearly remembered there was barely anything in the kitchen, much less a coffee maker. He noticed the addition of the clock, it was 9:30 AM.
Notes:
So, hi? It's been a while, a little over a month. I'm sorry, I went on vacation for a while and I tried to finish this before it and while I was on it, but as you can see, I failed. So as compensation, this is probably one of the longest chapters this fic will have. I think I'll update once every month or twice a month from now on. Also, this fic has a long way to go before it's done and I have no intention of leaving it unfinished, I can promise you that. And sorry for the inconsistent and bad writing! I hope you can enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The first thing Miles heard after waking up, brushing his teeth, changing, and walking into their new kitchen was, “ You look like shit.” Which earned a glare from both Miles and Kate, “ Rose you can’t say stuff like that.” The governess elbowed her friend, “ What? It’s not like he hasn’t heard curse words before, he’s like thirteen right?”
“Fifteen.” He glared, if looks could kill, Rose would be dead already. Kate poured some coffee into a mug and passed it to Rose, “ When did you set up the coffee maker?” He rubbed his eyes, he clearly remembered there was barely anything in the kitchen, much less a coffee maker. He noticed the addition of the clock, it was 9:30 AM.
“I set it up right now, I thought we could all use it.” Kate smiled, grabbed a mug from one of the cabinets, and handed it to him. Miles grabbed the coffee pot and poured a good amount into the mug, the creamer and sugar were already on the counter so cheers to that. He mixed a shit ton into his coffee, he didn't miss the way the two women were staring at him like he'd grown a second head. He almost snorted when Rose winced at him taking a sip out of his mug, “How can you drink that? It's literally liquified sugar, scratch that, that's fucking diabetes.” Rose stuck out her tongue in disgust, Kate laughed. Miles almost smiled, he wanted to add another spoonful of sugar just to spite her. He quickly drank the rest of the coffee and put his mug in the sink. He didn’t like the happy look on Kates's face when he did that.
“ I’ll start cooking breakfast, Miles, Can you please wake up Flora?” He didn’t respond as he walked out of the kitchen, he already was planning on waking up Flora after getting coffee, he doesn’t need her to tell him what to do. He sighed, crouched down and gently shook her shoulder, she was almost buried by the number of blankets she’d insisted on sleeping with, he smiled. “Rise and shine Flo! You need to get up, Kate’s making breakfast.”
She slowly opened her eyes and yawned, “Kate’s making breakfast? I like her cooking.” He stood back up, it was alright, he had tasted better over the years. “It kind of reminds me of Mrs.Grose’s cooking, homemade, you know?” His eyes widened, she looked down, her hand squeezing the blankets.” It's like part of our life before is still with us, Kate is taking care of us like she did. It feels…nice.” Flora looked up, Miles didn't know what to say, how do you even respond to that? He sat on the bed next to her,” I guess you're right, do you miss her?” She nodded,” Yeah but she's in a better place, with our parents.” Miles smiled, “Come here.” He turned to face her and wrapped his sister in his arms.
She buried her head in his shoulder, “Our lives are hopefully gonna be better now, less lavish and comfortable than before, but…acceptable. Life will never be the same again for a lot of reasons, but no matter what happens, I’ll keep you safe.” After a couple of minutes, she let go of him and lifted her head,” I wonder what Kate’s making?” He ruffled her hair,” Something good hopefully, now up and get ready, we have a lot to do today.” Flora sat up, “What’s she making?” He stood back up, “I don’t know, something good hopefully.” He turned around and headed back to the kitchen, Kate was almost done cooking and Rose was nowhere to be seen. He took a seat at the table hoping she wouldn’t notice him, but because life hates him she did. “Oh hey Miles, did you wake Flora up?” He nodded before putting his arms on the table and resting his head on them. She stared at him while setting the plates,” Did you sleep well?”
“More like didn’t sleep at all.” He muttered,” What was that?” Miles internally groaned,” I slept just fine.” The look on her face said she didn’t believe it,” Ok, if you say so.” He got up and washed his hands, “At what time is the dinner at?” She started placing the plates on the table,” It's at seven. Also, we should all wear something nice, we want to make a good impression.” Miles blinked at her,’ Who the fuck is we?’ He just went to sit back down, not bothering to respond.” Also, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something.” She sat down as well, she was staring at him, occasionally glazing away. “As your current legal guardian, I’m responsible for you and your sister's well-being, as well as making sure you two get an education.” Suddenly Miles wanted to be anywhere but here, he knew exactly in what direction this conversation was heading in and he did NOT want to partake in it. “Flora has had a governess for all her life, and it's for the best that I continue to take that role I’ve taken the past couple of months. But, since you got expelled at your last school, it's a different story.” He crossed his arms and leaned into the chair, Kate sighed.”I’m giving the best two options right now, you can attend the local high school or I can make a lesson plan for you and you can receive your classes like Flora does.”
Miles doesn’t like either of those options, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. “It’ll be nice for you to be out of the house and socialize with people your age. I wanted you to make the choice, it's your life.” ‘It doesn’t feel like it.’ He hated to say it but she was right, as much as he loves spending time with Flora and not talking to idiots, he missed the freedom that came with going to school. He can tolerate Rose and Kate but if he has to spend every single second trapped in a house with both of them, he’s gonna go insane. “I’ll go to school, can I eat my breakfast now?” She smiled at first which quickly turned into a confused look.”I never said you couldn’t but sure.” He didn’t miss the way she looked relieved by his answer, he made the right choice. “I’ll go to the school today to see when you can start.” He didn’t look up,” Cool.”
Kate and Miles were in the middle of eating when Rose walked in with a towel resting on her shoulders, Flora right behind her. He waved at them, not looking up from his food. “Sorry we both took so long, I was taking a shower and Flora was waiting for me to get out so she could get ready.” Kate smiled,” It's ok, the food is on the table.” Flora took a seat next to Miles and gave him a small smile, he smiled back.
After they all finished eating, Miles, Flora and Rose started bringing their boxes upstairs. They’d decided to work on her room first while Kate went to the school to register Miles, even though the semester was almost over. Flora had watched in delight as Miles and Rose carried her doll house into her new room. By 12:30 PM, Flora’s room was ready and looked just like she wanted. “We get to sleep in real beds today!” She giggled as she jumped onto the bed, he shared her enthusiasm. Inflatable beds weren’t as comfortable as real ones, and his back and neck felt that.
After that, Rose and Kate went to work on their rooms while the Fairchilds worked on Miles’s room. They talked and laughed while he set up his drum set and posters on the walls, Arachne was chilling on the dresser watching. By the time they started working on finishing the kitchen and living room, it was 3:00 PM. They decided to stop working at five, all four of them realizing that they had forgotten to eat lunch. “We’ll just be more hungry at dinner then.” Rose shrugged when Kate pointed it out, “Joyce is so nice, and her kids are so sweet. I can tell we’re gonna be great friends.” She smiled before looking at the clock,” Speaking of them, it’s almost seven. Let’s go get ready.”
The dinner had completely slipped out of his mind, while Flora skipped up the stairs, he walked like he was being dragged to his execution. He ended up wearing a white button-up collar shirt with a black sweater over it, accompanied by baggy gray jeans and his usual Converse. Flora was wearing a maroon-colored long-sleeve dress that reached her knees with black stockings, and a pair of cute little boots. They hadn't agreed on color coordination yet they did, sibling bond?
Kate was wearing one of her usual outfits, a light pink turtleneck with dark blue overall-like dress and black shoes, while Rose was wearing a white blouse and black dress pants with heel boots. They didn't look too bad he supposed, but they had taken much longer than either of the siblings had. “Oh my god! You both look great! And you guys are matching aww, it's adorable.” Kate cooed, causing Flora to smile sheepishly and twirl in her dress. Miles Fairchild was many things, but he was NOT ADORABLE! Flora yes, but him no, how dare she refer to him in that way. Miles glared at her while Rose looked like she was holding back a snicker, forget what he said about liking Rose better than Kate, he hates them both.
“Anyway, it’s fifteen minutes till seven, we should go, come on.” Kate motioned them to follow her outside, locked the door once everyone was out, and began walking to what Miles was assuming was the neighbor’s house. That was what Miles liked about the Manner, you didn’t have any annoying neighbors. It was a short walk thankfully, no more than five minutes. If he had to describe the neighbor’s house in one word, he’d use small. It was smaller than their stables and smaller than their current house, but it looked alright at least.
Kate knocked on the door,” We’re ten minutes early.” She whispered to them, ‘Yeah no shit Sherlock.’ He held back a glare, did she think he didn't know how to count or something? Thankfully the door opened, a nice-looking woman with brown hair and warm eyes opened the door. She was dressed in a magenta flannel and a red shirt with blue jeans, she seemed close to his mom's age, if she was still alive.
“Hi, It’s nice to see you again Kate.” She gave her a small hug, “It's Nice to see you too Joyce.”She smiled.
“I get to meet everyone this time.”
“You sure do.”
“This is Rose, the roommate I was telling you about, well now technically she’s my housemate.''She laughed, motioning to her friend. Joyce shook her hand,” It’s nice to finally meet you, Rose.” She smiled,” It’s nice to meet you too Joyce.”
She then turned towards the Fairchilds,” And these must be the children you were talking about.” Kate nodded,” Yeah, these are Flora and Miles.” She gave them a look,’ Smile! Greet her. Be polite!”Flora gave her a shy wave, hiding a bit behind her brother. Joyce smiled and waved back. Miles straightened out his posture and gave her a well-rehearsed smile,” It’s nice to meet you, Mrs.Byers.”And offered his hand out to shake. If this wasn’t polite enough for her, he didn’t know what would be.
“Well it’s nice to meet you too Miles, I was telling Kate yesterday how I have two kids your age. Maybe you three can get along?” She smiled and shook his hand,” Hopefully.” ‘This is gonna be a long dinner.’
“El, did you finish setting up the table?” Will asked, wiping the last counter. She nodded,” Did you finish the kitchen?” He gave her a thumbs up.
They had spent all day cleaning the house and making it look spotless, it wasn’t often they had people over and wanted to make a good impression on them. The only thought that had been in his head was,’ What’s he like?’. It’s been almost four months since they left Hawkins, and neither of the teens had yet to make a single friend. And he’s been so lonely with the rest of the party barely keeping contact with him and don’t even get him started on Mike. He’d gotten less than a handful of calls and barely any letters, and he missed him the most.
Was it so wrong with Will desperately wishing for someone, anyone he could spend time with? For El to spend time with? Lenora was straight-up cruel to her, always getting picked on by Angela and nobody smiling back at her when she smiled at them. Maybe this mystery guy will go to school with them and won’t fall under Angela’s influence, maybe he was stupid for putting so much hope into someone he hasn’t even met yet.
They both rushed into the living room when he heard his mom bring their guests inside, suddenly the collar of his flannel felt too tight. Following after his mom, was Kate and a woman he had never seen before. ‘Must be the roommate.’ He swears that time froze when his eyes landed on the two figures that entered last, more specifically the boy. ‘Mike!’ his brain screamed but it wasn't him. The boy in front of him was almost a carbon copy of him though, it was like he was his secret twin or something. He was dressed in a black sweater that was too big on him with a white collared shirt underneath, gray jeans and Converse.
His hair was a bit different, curlier, and messier than Mike’s and his eyes were different too. They were like dark voids with bags underneath, so tired and serious at the same time, and he had more freckles than Mike did. He was different yet so similar to the boy he knows, the boy he loves.
“You must be Joyce’s kids, it's nice to meet ya.” The foreign voice snaps him out of his thoughts, the lady next to Kate is smiling at El and him, extending both her hands out.”Oh! Yeah, I’m Will Byers and this is Jane.”He smiled awkwardly before shaking her hand, El happily waved and shook hers too. “I’m Rose, nice to meet you both.” He nodded, she turned towards the Mike look-a-like and a little girl hiding behind him he hadn’t noticed before in his trance.”Well? Are you two gonna introduce yourselves and say hi or what?” Will doesn’t miss the way that the not-Mike glares at Rose while maintaining a polite look on his face, do they not get along? The-not Mike turns to look at them, the smile seems to grow a little forced.”I’m Miles Fairchild, and this is my sister Flora. It’s nice to meet you.” He tilted his head forward in a greeting way. His sister, still hiding behind him, poked her head out and waved, saying a soft and quiet hi.
“It’s nice to meet you guys, I’m Will.” Miles raised a brow.”You already said that.” His face flushed a bit,” Oh.” Flora elbows him before completely stepping out and standing next to him, shooting him a look. He vaguely wonders if El noticed the similarities too.
“Why don’t we let the kids hang out in the living room and the adults can talk in the kitchen?”His mom looks around, cheering to see if anyone’s opposed. He notices the way Miles tenses up and Flora relaxes,” Sounds great to me.”Rose smiled and followed Joyce into the kitchen, Kate followed soon after looking back to check on the kids one last time. After Will took a seat on the couch, everyone else sat down too. Will and El on one side and Miles and Flora on the other. El was the first to break the silence and awkwardness,” I like your dress.”She smiled, and Flora smiled back too.”Thank you! I like your clothes too.” It didn’t take long for them to fall into conversation, quickly forgetting their brother’s existence, looks like he’s gonna have to break the ice first.
“So…uh where are you guys from?” He gave Miles a weak smile, he’d dropped his polite facade the second the adults had left the room and had had a monotone look. “New York.” Will perked up,” Really? That’s cool, we moved here from Hawkins Indiana a few months ago ourselves.” Miles seemed a bit more interested in the conversation.
“Why did you move?”This question was bound to be asked,” We…wanted a fresh start, and you?” he stared at him curiously.”Same, what a coincidence.” He nodded,” Yeah.” They were both quiet for a bit.
“You look a lot like my sister’s boyfriend.” . ‘You look like my sister's boyfriend, WHO THE FUCK SAYS THAT TO SOMEONE THEY JUST MET?!?’ WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH HIM?!?
Miles looked taken back then really confused,” I do?” Will forces himself to nod, wishing he could just crawl into a hole and die.”Yeah, almost exactly like him, your hair and eyes are a bit different though. And your names are pretty similar too, his is Mike. Guess you’re each other's doppelgänger.” Miles, who still looked confused, just nodded,” I guess, it’s…interesting though.” Someone, seriously, just kill him already.
“I think you’re gonna go to my high school.” Will laughed awkwardly after a bit of silence, internally screaming at his poor attempt to change the subject.”Yeah, I haven't been to a public school before.” Miles looked around the place, analyzing it.
“Private?”
“Yeah.”
Kate walked into the living room, everyone's eyes were on her.” Joyce wanted me to tell you that dinner’s ready.” and walked away. Will was the first to get up, then the rest followed. When they got to the dining room, the three women were already seated down, chatting and laughing like they’d known each other their whole lives. Because the universe hates him, Will and Miles end up sitting next to each other, and Flora and El across from them.
“I hope you like spaghetti and meatballs, I don’t know what you like so I chose a basic dish.” Joyce smiled, a round of thanks echoed from where the kids were sitting as they began to eat. Out of the Fairchilds, Flora was the first to take a bite out of the food.”This is really good Mrs.Joyce, it’s similar to what Mrs.Grose would cook for us.” Everyone at the table could sense that Kate and Miles tensed up at that, Flora continued eating, either oblivious to the tension she created or she just didn’t care.
“Mrs.Grose was their old maid and caretaker.” Kate said after a bit, obviously trying to dissolve the tension in the room. “She fell off the second floor while cleaning and died.” Miles said simply, taking a bite out of his food. Will’s eyes widened, along with everyone else at the table, except for Flora. The way Miles said it gave him chills, he sounded so detached yet there was a hint of sadness hidden in his voice.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Will looked down at the food,” It’s ok, everyone dies eventually.” Flora said nonchalantly, taking another bite of her food. El seemed to be taking this in, giving it a lot of, Will didn’t know what to think, and neither did his mom. “What recipe did you use?” Kate broke the silence, breaking the tension and the adults went back to talking. Flora began talking to El again, leaving Will and Miles in silence.
“What's the school like?” Miles asked, breaking the ice this time. Will looked at him,” It’s nice for the most part, the only bad thing is Angela and her followers.” He sighed, putting his fork down. “She’s straight-up cruel to Jane, and everyone else follows her lead. There’s not much either of us can do about it and Jane doesn’t want Mom finding out.” He whispered, glancing at El, making sure he wasn’t listening. Miles hummed, “She reminds me of the guys from my old school.” He ate another bite, “Really? What was your old school like?” Will stared at him, he didn't know much about him, but he wanted to know more about the Mike-look-alike. Miles's grip on his fork tightened, his face still calm but his eyes told another story.”It was shit. The guys there were horrible and it was a boarding school, it wasn't like you could avoid them. Don't have to deal with them anymore.” He seemed to relax at the last part, Will understood, the kids at Hawkins had been horrible too.
“Because you moved?”Will smiled, Miles stared at him dead in the eye.”Because I got expelled.” He smiled, and Will's became shaky.
“Oh.”
Neither of them broke eye contact,” For what if you don’t mind me asking?” He hated the way the nerves seeped into his voice, Miles nodded.”One of my classmates burned some of my stuff and taunted me…so I beat the shit out of him in a bathroom.” He stared at him curiously, Will processed the story. “You must have beaten him up pretty bad to get expelled.” Will struggled to maintain eye contact,” You could say that.”
“I’m sorry your stuff was burned though.” What do you even say in this type of situation? Was Miles trying to scare him off? It seemed like it, did he do this to everyone? Miles’s eyes widened slightly, he just nodded. Will was the first one to look away, his eyes back down at his food.
Twenty minutes later, biding their guests goodnight, waving as they walk back to their house in the dark. Part of Will was glad that they had left, he wasn’t sure how much more of that awkwardness he could take. But, he couldn’t wait to talk to Miles again. He was fascinating, he didn’t know what to think of him. Part of Will wanted to avoid him, telling him that he shouldn’t be hanging around someone like him. But the other part wanted to get to know him better, to understand him before judging based on their first interaction.
Sure he was a bit unsettling, but he seemed like he could be a cool guy. “He looks like Mike.”El said, passing him, walking back inside the house. So she did notice,” Yeah, he does. Even their names are similar.” He followed her, and she smiled.”Flora’s nice, Kate and Rose are too. I didn’t speak to Miles, is he nice?” She tilted her head, “He seems somewhat nice, I think he’s just a bit awkward around people.” Will rubbed the back of his neck, it was one way to put it.
“I hope we can be friends, Flora said he’s the best.” She looked hopeful and happy, he smiled, it was nice seeing her like this. “We’re gonna go to school together.” He smiled at the way her face lit up. “He doesn’t like people like Angela, so don’t worry about him joining her.”
He heard his mom close the door, they both turn to look at her.”I think that went well, we all get along pretty good.” She smiled,” Did you get along with the kids?” They both nodded. “You should hang out again.” She made her way to the kitchen, “It’s a shame Jonathan couldn’t make it.” “Yeah, he was hanging out with Argyle.”
“Hopefully he can make it next time.”
“Yeah, hopefully.”
“Well, that was fun! Wasn’t it?” Kate smiled, Rose laughed.”Yeah, I think this place is gonna be great. What do you think Flora, did you have fun?” Flora was grabbing her brother’s hand while skipping, Miles’s too deep in thought to notice. Will Byers is…interesting, even after trying to scare him off, he still seems like he wants to continue trying to befriend him. Sure, he seems a little bit weird, but he seemed like he’d be a good friend. Would it…would it be so bad if he made a friend? The night before he told himself he didn’t want friends but maybe having one would be nice, he hasn’t had many of those before. And he could be friends with Jane too, Flora seems to like her well enough and he trusts Flora.
“Earth to Miles? You in there?” He snapped his head at her,” What?” Rose raised an eyebrow,” I called your name like five times already, you good?” Was he hearing things or was there concern hidden in her voice? “I’m fine, just thinking. What do you want?” He can’t read the look on her face, why can’t he read the look on her face?”I just asked if you got along with Will and Jane.” He blinked,” I didn’t get to speak to Jane but Will was alright I guess.” He continued to stare up ahead, reaching the front door.
Kate unlocked the door, going inside after everyone else. Miles immediately headed upstairs, tuning out whatever Kate had told them. He rubbed his eyes, he was tired, so very tired. Hopefully, he’ll be able to sleep more hours a night before he has to go to school, it’s a bitch to deal with sleep deprivation during class.
Suddenly Miles lurched forward, gagging and coughing. He immediately made a run for the bathroom, leaning into the toilet and sinking into the bathroom floor, retching liquid that left a vile taste in his mouth. He gasped for air, choking on the last bit of vomit. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes, he squinted as the feeling burned him on the inside, once his breaths settled down a bit, he wiped his mouth and peered into the toilet. Miles froze, what the fuck?!?
Vomit wasn’t supposed to be black, was it? He couldn’t tear his eyes away, was that even vomit? Miles quickly flushed it down the toilet and slammed the lid down, almost losing his balance while trying to stand up. Everything will be better once he sleeps, yeah, that’s what he’ll do. Brush his teeth, change, tell Flora goodnight, and sleep.
He stumbled to the sink and stared at the mirror, for a second, he could have sworn the whites of his eyes were black for a second. He’s tired, he’s just seeing things, he’ll be fine. There’s no other option.
Miles leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
I t ‘ l l b e f i n e.
Notes:
The last couple of paragraphs are a reference to ghost eyes the webtoon, if you know you know. Miles will be fine, oneday. :)
Chapter 8: Friends?
Summary:
He took a deep breath and knocked, his spare hand rapidly tapping on his leg. The door quickly opened, Joyce smiled when she saw him. “Hi Miles! It’s good to see you again.” He nodded,” Same for you Mrs.Byers, I was wondering if I could hang out with Will and Jane?” He tried putting on a polite look on his face, ‘FALL BACK! FALL BACK!’ he kept screaming over and over in his head.
Notes:
Hi! So I lied here’s a new chapter, right after finishing chapter 7 I got the motivation to write this, so the next chapter will probably come out last august or early September. A lot of this was improvised and not in the outline. I’d like to thank everyone for all their support on this fic😭 it means the world to me and I hope I can live up to your expectations!Anyway I hope you enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It took Miles two days before he decided to go to the Byers's house again, one day to debate the idea and one day to convince himself to go. Kate was overjoyed when he asked if he could walk over there since he apparently can’t go anywhere without informing her or Rose. She had told him how happy she was that he was trying to make friends in Lenora and Rose had laughed and smacked him on the back, which had taken everything in him to not flinch and turn around to smack her back.
“What happened? You had a change of heart or something?” She’d ask which he didn't respond to. So that's how he found himself walking across the street at 4 PM on a Thursday, halfway there he started to regret it. He tried finding comfort in the sound of his shoes hitting the pavement, but it didn’t really help. He slowly walked up to the door.
He took a deep breath and knocked, his spare hand rapidly tapping on his leg. The door quickly opened, Joyce smiled when she saw him. “Hi Miles! It’s good to see you again.” He nodded,” Same for you Mrs.Byers, I was wondering if I could hang out with Will and Jane?” He tried putting on a polite look on his face, ‘FALL BACK! FALL BACK!’ he kept screaming over and over in his head.
“Of course, I’ll call them right away. Please, come in.” She motioned her hand, Miles stepped inside. The house seemed bigger than it had been two nights before, he didn’t have Rose or Kate or Flora to distract the others, so everyone's attention would be on him. He looked around the house properly this time, there were lots of pictures on the walls of who he assumed was a younger Will and a boy who looked a lot like him. “WILL! JANE! MILES IS HERE!” Joyce yelled, making him jump, wide-eyed.
He’d forgotten she was there. Then he felt stupid,’ She lives here, it's her house, why wouldn't she be here?’
He turned to look at two sets of stairs, one leading up and the other leading down. Will was the first to come out to meet him, quickly walking up the stairs, into the living room.
“Hi?”Will said awkwardly, rubbing the back is his neck. “Hi.” He responded, his nails digging into his sweater. This was a bad idea, but he can't back out now.
“Mom, E-Jane is writing Mike a letter and will probably be down a bit.” Joyce nodded,” Well, I have to go back to work. Have fun!” Both of them are left staring at each other, in silence.
“I start school on Monday.”He looked at him, Will tried to maintain eye contact.”Do you have a ride already?” He shakes his head, technically he could ask Kate or Rose to drive him, but he didn't want that.
Will seemed to think for a bit,” My brother's friend Argyle takes us to school, maybe you can ride with us? I mean, there's enough space for you to fit.” He considers it,” I’ll have to ask Kate about that.” Will nodded,” Do you want to go to my room?” Miles shrugged,” Sure.” And back down the stairs Will went with Miles trailing behind him. ‘So that’s who was in the picture.’
He opened the door revealing a washed-out yellow room, it was covered with posters and drawings, art supplies were scattered around in one of the corners and little trinkets were sitting on top of the dressers and desks. it was nice, nicer than what he had expected.
It looked cozy.
“Sorry it's a bit of a mess, I wasn't expecting anyone.”He laughed a little, in Miles’s opinion, the room looked like it was meant to look that way. He wasn't sure what Will was talking about.”It's fine, it doesn't look messy anyway.” He smiled sheepishly,” Thanks.”
Will looked around before setting his eyes on his bed, “Do you want to take a seat?” he asked,” Yeah.” They ended up sitting on the bed on opposite ends, both boys looking at their laps. “Your mom's nice.” Miles mutters, picking at his nail fold, hunched over a bit. “O-oh, yeah she is.” Will stammered, rubbing his neck once again. The door clicked and opened, both of them look up, Jane stepped inside with a friendly grin on her face. “Oh, hey Jane.” Will smiled, Miles just waved.
“Joyce said you wanted to hang out with us, I’m glad.” She plopped down in between them happily, oblivious to the stench of awkwardness in the room. “Yeah, I wanted to get to know you two. Just think it’ll be nicer to have friends here.” He responded, his voice sounding a bit awkward but mainly monotone. Jane’s grin seemed to get bigger,” Yeah! It’s gonna be nice it being the three of us, we don’t have friends here either.” He felt a strange sense of pity for her, she seems genuinely nice and everything that Will told him about her life at school, it reminded Miles of himself when he was younger. He nodded.
“I have a question, why do Kate and Rose take care of you and Flora? Are they family?” She tilted her head, Miles’s eyes widened. Will didn’t say anything, he turned his gaze towards him curiously and also apologetically. He wasn’t upset, just caught off guard.
“No, they’re not family. My parents died a couple of years ago and the caretaker died recently. Uncle dearest doesn’t have time to take care of us so Kate became our legal guardian.” He quickly looked down again, his fingers back to picking. Jane stared at him with a kind and understanding look,” My dad died in a mall fire saving lives, now I live with Joyce, Will, and Jonathan. I get it.” She smiled sadly, Miles looked at her and nodded. He couldn’t help but wonder what happened to her mom.
The three of them were quiet for a bit,” Why don't we play a game to get to know each other better? We can take turns asking each other questions and stuff.” Will looked at them excitedly, it wasn’t a bad idea.
”Sure.”Miles looked up.
“Yeah!”Jane smiled,” I’ll go first, Miles, What's your favorite food? And Will, what's your favorite song?” He gave it some thought,” Pop-tarts, the strawberry ones specifically.” She nodded and turned to her brother,” ‘ Should I Stay or Should I Go’ by ‘The Clash’.” He hummed, ‘Will has good taste’ he decided.”My turn, Miles, do you have any pets? And Jane, who’s your favorite food?”He looked at them.
A small smile formed on Miles’s face.”I do actually, I have a pet tarantula, her name is Arachne.” Will’s eyes widened,” Like in Greek mythology? That's really cool.” Jane nodded,” Spiders are nice. My favorite food are waffles.” He straightened up and nodded,” Yeah, the Weaver. You can meet her when you come over sometime.” Will grinned,” We'd love to, she sounds cool.” Jane smiled,” Yeah, and I can hang out with Flora too! She's very nice Miles.”
”Floras has been wanting to hang out with you too.” Making friends wasn’t all that bad, it was kind of fun. Both Jane and Will were so different from the guys at the boarding school, in a good way of course. He found himself genuinely enjoying their company and they didn’t make him want to tear his hair out, he had no idea what shit hole public school was gonna be like, but if these two are with him, it’ll be a bit more bearable. He almost smiled.
“My turn, Will, do you have any hobbies? And Jane, what’s your favorite subject?” He rubbed his neck,” I draw, art is my hobby.”He laughed awkwardly.”That’s cool.”
“I’m best at math, so I think it’s my favorite.” She smiled proudly, he nodded and smiled a bit. “What about you Miles? Do you have any hobbies?” Will tilted his head, Jane stared at him. “I play guitar and the drums.” His smile grew a bit, “Can you play us something one day? You look like you can play well.” She asked, leaning towards him excitedly. “She’s right, you look like a good musician.” Will smiled softly, Miles looked away from them. It was one thing for Flora to compliment him or think he’s good at playing, but for two people he barely even knows to think he’s good without even hearing him play? It felt weird, kind of nice though.
“Thanks? I might play something for you two one day.” He went back to picking at his finger fold, he looked back at them. Jane had a look of realization, Will frowned, looks like he noticed too.”What is it?” She began to laugh,” You didn’t follow the game!” They both looked at her confused,” What?” She laughed again,” We were supposed to take turns asking questions, Will went out of turn.”
Will chuckled, “Sorry didn’t mean to.” Miles smiled,” Will is a rule breaker.” Jane nodded, his face turned red.”I’m not! It was an accident, and it's just a game, nothing important!” Miles shook his head,” How could you hurt your sister’s feelings like this? Skipping over her, if that were me I’d be offended.” She giggled, Will sputtered. “I didn’t though!”
“We shouldn’t play games with Will anymore, he will go out of turn.”
“I agree.”
“OH COME ON!”
Life was going great if you asked Rose, Kate’s back, they have a house now, and they have a great pizza place nearby. It’s going well, even dealing with the kids doesn’t feel like a bother. Flora is a sweet kid and Miles is kind of like the little brother of the group, the kid isn’t so bad.
“Rose, you almost done with the dishes?”Kate called out from the living room, she glanced at her and put the last cup in the cabinet.”Yeah, I’m done.” Kate had been working with Flora on her lessons while Rose had been cleaning the kitchen. “Ok Flora, we’re done for the day. You can do whatever you want before dinner.” She smiled and Flora nodded before running off upstairs, Kate sighed and walked into the kitchen. She pulled out a chair and sat down, Rose stared at her for a moment.
“You ok?” She sat in front of her, Kate looked at her with a worn-out smile.”Yeah, just trying to get used to the time change, you know?” She nodded,” Yeah, we’re three hours ahead.” She looked over at the living room,” Do you want to watch a movie together? I bought popcorn the other day.”
Kate smiled,” Yeah, but won’t Flora want to join us?” She glanced at the staircase, “I think she won’t mind.” She got up and grabbed her hand,” Come on, you choose a movie and I’ll make the popcorn. I’ll make extra in case Flora and Miles want some.” “Ok”
After five minutes Rose joined Kate on the couch, the movie had just started.”What are we watching?” She sat down next to her, Kate looked at her before turning back to the screen.”The sound of music.” Rose smiled,” Well, there goes three hours of my day, not that I’m complaining.”
She handed her the bowl, Kate scooted closer to her and rested her head on Rose’s shoulder.”You don’t mind right?” She could feel her cheeks growing hot,” You know I don’t.” She rested her head on Kate’s and sank into the couch, it felt nice.
Halfway through the movie, soft snores could be heard while the movie played, both of them curled into each other peacefully with arms wrapped around each other.
Oblivious to either of them, a little girl was watching from the stairs smiling before going back to her room.
“Can we walk back with you?
The three of them stood in the driveway, the sun had started to set. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind that.” They laughed and talked and walked all full five minutes, till they reached the doorsteps. “I’ll see you later.”Miles smiled at them,” Ok, don’t forget to ask Kate about the ride.” Will smiled and waved goodbye, “I won’t.” Jane waved at him,” Bye Miles!” He waved,” Bye.” He watched them walk back to their house before turning back to the door.
Before he would knock, it opened. It was…Flora? “Sshh!”She did the shushing motion before pointing at the living room, a movie was playing softly.”They’re sleeping.” She then turned around, grabbed his hand and guided him upstairs. He looked over at the two women sleeping on the couch, they looked so peaceful and happy, his lips twitched upwards.
“They would be cute together.”Flora whispers as she drags him to her room, she had a smile on her face. He hummed,” I guess they would.” He closed the door,” They fell asleep halfway through, I think it was sweet.” He nodded,” Can we play?”She asked, walking over to the dollhouse.”Sure thing.”He smiled, walking over and sitting down in front of it, picking up a doll. As they played, she’d ask questions.
“Did you have fun?”
“I guess.”
“Are you guys friends now?”
“Probably.”
“Does Jane wanna hang out with me?”
He smiled at her,” Of course silly, who wouldn’t wanna hang out with you.” She giggled,” She’s very nice, I never had a friend like her before. I’ve never had many friends actually.” She looked down, his heart ached a little.”Well, things are different now. You have a new friend and probably will make more.” He ruffled her hair,” Flora laughed. Why don’t you ask Kate to make dinner? They’ve both slept long enough.” Miles got up and bushes himself off,” I’ll be in my room.” He opened the door and walked out.
“Why do I have to go get him?” Rose complained, sitting at the table.”Because Flora is helping me make dinner and you’re not doing anything.” Kate smiled and Flora laughed, Rose just rolled her eyes at them,” Waiting for the food isn’t doing nothing, but alright.” She sighed and headed upstairs, ‘Why can’t the kid drag his ass downstairs instead?’.
She reached his door and knocked,” Miles? The food is almost ready.” She didn’t hear anything back, didn’t Flora say he was backed from hanging out with Joyce’s kids? “Miles?” She opened the door, he was sitting on his bed facing the wall hunched over. He had his headphones on, no wonder he didn’t hear her. Rose quickly walked over and put a hand on his shoulder,” Miles-.” He immediately turned around and swung at her with his fist, Rose quickly stepped back in time, avoiding getting hit. “DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME!”
She would’ve shouted ‘What the fuck’, and gotten pissed if she hadn’t noticed his face, the amount of fear in his eyes. He looked terrified and angry, pressing himself on the wall. She slowly put her hands up in peace, taking a couple of steps away from the bed. “Woah, calm down ok? I’m not gonna hurt you.” The fear was quickly masked by anger, not that he was doing a good job at hiding it.”The fuck do you want?” He glared at her. “Just wanted to tell you that the food’s almost ready.” She kept her voice unusually soft and gentle, instead of calming him, he became more visibly tense.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Ok, that’s fine kid.” She made her way back to the door, trying to ignore the feeling of Miles’s eyes burning holes into the back of her head. Rose turned to look at him one last time,” I’ll leave a plate out in case you change your mind, ok?” She didn’t get an answer, Rose nodded and closed the door. She didn’t miss the sigh of relief Miles left out after she left.
Just exactly what the fuck happened in that Manor?
Miles sank into the bed the second the door closed and the footsteps faded, he didn’t move.
The mask had fallen.
Why?
Why did he have to react like that? All she did was just put her fucing hand on his shoulder, was that seriously all it took to get to him? Kate had already seen him like that, and now Rose was added to the list. She saw him freak out, weak and vulnerable, he didn’t want anyone to see him like that. He froze, did Flora and Kate hear him? The door had been open, right? He waited, but no one came upstairs.
He could feel the tears trying to pry their way out of his eyes, his hands couldn’t stop shaking. His vision started getting blurry, he couldn’t breathe. He hugged his knees and fell to the side, soon his entire body started shaking, attempting to repress the sobs that were trying to claw their way out of his throat. Miles grabbed one of the pillows nearby and buried his face nearby.
He didn’t want to feel like this, terrified, angry, empty, numb, scared, confused, in pain. He wanted to stop hurting, a sob escaped his mouth. And then another one and another one till his entire body was racking with them.
W h y c o u l d n ‘ t h e s t o p h u r t i n g?
He hated it, he hated feeling like this, he hated people, but most of all he hated Quint. He squeezed the pillow harder as the sobbs continued to rip out, God. He really fucking hated him.
He wanted to scream but he couldn’t, to dig his nails into his arms but he couldn’t, to break everything in his room but he couldn’t. He wasn’t ok, Miles let out a broken laugh, he really wasn’t. All it took was a hand on his shoulder for him to break.
By the time he was done crying, the moonlight was the only thing illuminating the room. The rest of the house was quiet, and he was feeling empty. He slowly sat up and looked at the time, the clock read 12:43 AM. He scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up, walking over to Arachne. “Hey.” His voice sounded cracked, she didn't peak out.”Here, you must be hungry.” He dropped two crickets into the terrarium, and she immediately snatched one. Miles chuckled,” Looks like I was right, I’m kind of hungry myself actually.”
Rose left him a plate right? Maybe it’s still there? Miles quietly opened the door, peaking out into the hallway. Everything was dark, similar to how the Manor would be at night. He found it kind of comforting, he quietly walked down the hall and down the stairs. The plate was sitting on the counter covered in foil, it was cold and he wasn’t gonna bother heating it. He might wake someone up.
He grabbed a fork and the plate and headed up stairs. Something told him he wasn’t gonna sleep tonight.
Notes:
Soo how we feeling :D, This chapter was supposed to end when Miles got back from the Byer’s but I decided to bee evil and add angst and vent >:D So you got these lovely paragraphs. Fun fact! I was listening to ‘I can't handle change’ on repeat while writing the last part. The reason Miles reacted the way he did was because he's been repressing his feelings and ignoring his mental health, pretending that every bad thing that's happened to him didn't happen and trying to distract himself from his reality. Which is why he seemed ‘fine’ on the outside. I feel like the only person he’s fully ok with physical contact is Flora and anyone else he's not comfortable with,he’ll tense up at and it won't go well. The incident with Rose, broke the thin wall that had been keeping everything bottled up and let it all out, which he desperately needed. This is kind of based of me. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you next time!
Chapter 9: School.
Summary:
He nodded, he was pretty sure by the smell of the van that the plant she was talking about was weed, did she not know what weed was? After all three of them were seated in the back, a guy hopped into the passenger seat, he assumed it was Will’s brother. “Sorry, I’m late.” He looked in the rearview mirror, making eye contact with him, “Is this your new friend?” Will nodded,” I’m Miles, I moved here last week.” Jonathan gave him a small smile, “Nice to meet you.”
Notes:
Heyy, so I’m a little late to the monthly post but now I'm back! The reason it took me so long to finish this chapter is because I got writer's block halfway through so the ending of this chapter is kind of shitty so I apologize for that and I’ve also been busy with school. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kate had been happy when he asked if he could ride to school with Will and Jane, probably because she wouldn’t have to wake up at the crack ass of dawn to drive him. He had tried to avoid Rose the rest of the weekend, but it turned out it had been harder the he’d thought. He felt her staring at him with knowing eyes, he didn’t want to talk about the other night.
It felt weird going back to school, especially because it's a public school where people are bound to be even stupider than at his old one. He’d eaten a couple pop tarts for breakfast, hugged Flora, and rushed out the door.
He was waiting outside on their driveway, digging the tip of his shoe into the pavement. Miles just wanted to get the day over with already. He heard the front door open,” Do you always wear sweaters?” He looked up, Will was walking towards him. “Most of the time, I like them.” He nodded, they stood next to each other, “Jane’s almost ready.” Miles just hummed. A few minutes later, she walked out and stood next to them smiling. “Hi!.” He waved,” Hi.” She looked like she was about to burst from excitement.
“It’ll be so fun! We can hang out when we don’t have class.” Will smiled,” Yeah and we can sit together at lunch too.” He turned towards Miles,” Since the semester is almost over, if you need help with anything, just ask me, ok?” He nodded and sighed,” At what time is your brother's friend supposed to be here?” Right as Will was about to respond a pizza van swerved into the driveway blasting music, the guy behind the wheel honked and lowered the window. “Hey, brochachos.” A long-haired guy waved at them before motioning them to hop in, Miles was hesitant about going in but Jane grabbed his wrist and dragged him inside. “This is Jonathan's friend Argyle, they smell smelly plants together, don’t tell Joyce.” She smiled and brought a finger up to her lips.
He nodded, he was pretty sure by the smell of the van that the plant she was talking about was weed, did she not know what weed was? After all three of them were seated in the back, a guy hopped into the passenger seat, he assumed it was Will’s brother. “Sorry, I’m late.” He looked in the rearview mirror, making eye contact with him, “Is this your new friend?” Will nodded,” I’m Miles, I moved here last week.” Jonathan gave him a small smile, “Nice to meet you.”
“Another little dude, nice man. Let's go dudes!” Miles doesn’t have time to react as Argyle quickly pulls them out of the driveway and jerks forward, grabbing onto his bag and the seat for dear life. The ride did NOT get easier and the only thing he was thinking as he hears the conversations happening around him is,’ WHO THE FUCK LET THIS GUY HAVE A LICENSE?!?’. This wasn’t a ride to school, this was a fucking death trap! He crashes into Jane a couple of times and against the door which hurt, he apologizes to Jane but not to the freaking door.
He’s both surprised and relieved when they make it to school on time and in one piece, He doesn’t want to think what the ride back will be like. They get dropped off at the entrance before going to park the van, waving at them and yelling that they’ll see them later. “So what did you think of the ride?” Will smiles, Miles glares at him.”What ride? That was a murder attempt and you know it.” He laughed,” Come on, it wasn’t that bad.” Miles looked away,” Jane’s already leaving without us, come on, I don’t want to be late.” He quickly followed after Jane, Will trailing after them. Will was being…helpful, he made sure Miles got his schedule and knew where all his classes were and what time his lunch was at. And just as Jane had hoped for, they shared lunch and multiple classes together.
The morning had been going well, his classes didn’t seem too hard and not much homework had been assigned in his previous classes. What he didn’t like was having to stand in front of the class, introduce himself and have people stare at him for the rest of class. Frankly, it was annoying, especially when he was forced to talk about himself.
He didn’t miss how Jane’s cheerful demeanor dampened and Will seemed nervous as they walked into their next class with the name,’ Mrs. Gracey’ on the door. When she saw him, she smiled and made him stand in front of the room. She clapped her hands twice and the room quieted down, “Class, we have a new student joining us today! This is Miles, he’ll be joining us for the rest of the year.” She smiled and turned towards the class, a chorus of ‘Hi Miles’ rang throughout the classroom. It was annoying, “Miles why don’t you tell us a little about yourself.” His eye twitches, if he has to do this one more time he's gonna end up killing someone by the end of the day. He faces everyone and plasters a fake smile on his face,” I just moved here from New York and I have a pet tarantula.” Jane gave him a thumbs up, he nodded in her direction.
He heard a lot of murmurs and gasps as he scanned the classroom, one boy in particular caught his attention. He sent a spitball in Jane’s direction, hitting her on her cheek. No one said anything, people laughed and snickered. She wiped her face, trying her best to keep her smile up, Will glared at the guy before putting his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. His eyes trailed to the girl the boy was high-fiving, her blonde hair was half put up in a ponytail and her laugh sounded like nails on a chalkboard, that must be the famous bitch Angela. “Well now, there’s plenty of places to sit so choose a seat, class will be starting soon.” He already knew where he was gonna sit, there was a space in between Jane the guy who had thrown the spitball and he was going to fill it in. If stupid hair with sunglasses wanted to shoot spitballs at her, they’d have to miraculously go through him. Seriously, who the fuck wears sunglasses in November? Did his mom drop him as a baby a few times?
Miles smirked faintly as he felt all eyes on him when he sat near Jane, and gave her and Will a quick smile before looking at the board. He could feel Angela and stupid hair glaring at him, all he did in response was smile and slouch. The class passed relatively quickly and soon the bell rang, he watched as people got up and walked out. Just as he was about to head over to Will and Jane, he heard the most irritating and annoying voice he had ever had the misfortune of hearing. “Miles right?” He turned around and put on his fake smile again, just as he suspected, it was Angela. She had a couple of her friends with her, including stupid hair. “Yeah, do you need anything?” She smiled, it was saccharine sweet, “Well, since you’re new, we were wondering if you wanted to eat lunch with us? You could tell us all about New York and your black widow.”
He blinked, she did not just say that. Please tell him that this bitch did not just say to his face that a black widow and a tarantula are the same fucking thing.”Tarantula.” His smile became more forced, he heard stupid hair mutter that if Angela said it was a black widow then it was a black widow. ‘I bet if Angela told him to jump off a cliff, he’d do it.’ “Sorry, but I’ll have to pass.” No sorry at all, she frowned a bit. ”Why?”. He dropped the smile,” Because I don’t want to.” One of her other friends glared at him while he stood up and grabbed his stuff, “You think you’re too good for us since you’re from New York don’t you?” Miles wanted to laugh, “Yes and also, I don’t like you, have a nice lunch!” He waved at them while walking out. He smiled as he heard the group muttering to each other in anger, idiots.
When he stepped into the hallway, Will looked like he was trying his hardest not to laugh while Jane had a huge smile on her face. “You said no.” He nodded, her smile grew. “Thank you, now let's eat lunch.” She turned around, walking down the hall with a pep in her step. He had a faint smile on his face as he followed behind her, Will laughed next to him. “I think she’s gonna have it out for you for the rest of the year.” Miles smirked a little, “I’ve known her for less than two hours and can’t stand her and that stupid hair boy .” Will snorted,” Stupid hair?” He looked at him,” Well yeah, his hair looks stupid and he's wearing sunglasses in November. Who the fuck does that? Is it a Californian thing to just dress like it's summer all year round?” He frowned, waving his hands in an exasperated and confused manner. Will laughed,” Maybe? We haven't been here long enough, guess we'll have to find out.”
In Miles’s opinion, lunch had gone well. Even though he sadly had to admit that Kate’s cooking was better than whatever shit the public school cafeteria served, he had enjoyed the experience. He had never gotten to sit at a lunch table before and just eat and talk with people before, just talking about homework and projects and tests felt nice.
He didn't miss the way the others enjoyed it too, the way Jane looked like she had just won the lottery and Will looked like he was going through nostalgia…he decided not to say anything about it.
He had decided that public school wasn't as bad as he'd been expecting.
It was all going well till the last period because life and the universe hated him.
The teacher had been in the middle of the lesson when Miles felt it, the feeling of vile and vomit clawing up his throat.
Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!
Without saying anything, he stood up, put a hand over his mouth and ran out the door ignoring the teacher calling his name. It didn’t take long for him to find the nearest bathroom since he’d spotted it before, and rushed inside. He didn’t waste any time locking the stall door and retching into the toilet, it was the same feeling as last time, the tears in his eyes, the lack of enough oxygen, and his throat burning. Out of all the days this could've happened again, it had to be his first day back at school. Why could he have vomited during the weekend? It would've been better for this to happen during the weekend, but it had its own schedule which didn't match with his.
He rested his head against the wall as he tried to catch his breath, not caring about if it was dirty or not. He wiped his mouth with some toilet paper and looked at it, it was the same strange black liquid as last time. He frowned before throwing it in the toilet and flushing, Miles coughed a few times before going back to resting on the wall.
He closed his eyes and sighed, what the hell did he do in his past life to have to go through this? There’s no way he’s going back to class, he’ll just hide out in here, Will was most likely going to get his bag for him anyway.
If Will said he wasn’t caught off guard when Miles got up and ran out of the classroom, he’d be lying.
Was he ok?
Everyone had gone quiet and the teacher looked confused, he raised his hand.”Yes, Mr.Byers?” He looked over at the now empty desk,” Mr.Whittaker, I think Miles is throwing up, can I go make sure he's ok?” He sighed,” Get his bag and yours, I have a feeling he won't be able to return to class.” Will thanked him and quickly got their stuff and left. Once he was in the halls, he went inside the nearest bathroom hoping Miles would be there.
“Miles? Are you here?” It was quiet for a moment before a raspy voice answered,” Yeah, I'm here.” He sighed in relief but winced when he heard more reaching,” Shit, why didn't you tell me you were sick.” He heard heavy breathing before hearing the toilet flush, “I didn't know I was sick, it was probably this school's shitty food.” Miles opened the door, he looked tired like usual, dried up tears rested at the edge of his eyes as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
He looked miserable.
“You might wanna rinse your mouth and splash your face, I have some mint gum in my bag I can give you afterward.” He just nodded before walking over to the sink, while Will digged around his bag for the pack. After a bit, he pulled two sticks out as Miles finished up. “We can go sit on the benches outside the bathroom, Mr.Whittaker says you don't have to go back to class, besides school’s over in ten minutes.” Miles nodded, Will handed him the gum and his bag,” Thanks Byers.”
Will led them out of the bathroom, they both sat down with both of their backpacks sitting on their laps. Miles was resting his chin on top of his with his eyes closed. They sat in silence for a few minutes. “You feeling better?” He nodded, Will smiled. “We should work on homework together.” He glanced at him, he was looking at the floor. “I think that Jane would like that and it gives us an excuse to hang out.” His smile grew, “Yeah, I’m cool with that.”
The bell rang.
Jane had been waiting for them at the entrance smiling and waving at them. Will had explained what had happened which Miles disliked, he didn’t want people worrying over him. Especially about this, he already has Rose on his ass, he didn’t need his friends to join her too. Argyle and Jonathan pulled up in front of them, once again, all three of them piled into the van and took their seats. This time Miles makes sure he’s wearing a seat belt, he learned his lesson the first time.
This time he looks out the window, getting a better view of the place. Despite most of it being desert and occasional patches of green and trees, he found it beautiful in a strange way. It was so much more different from New York. He turned to look at his friends, and he smiled. Today hadn't been so bad.
Notes:
Miles can't catch a break :)) While writing this I was listening to ‘mind is a prison’ By Alec Benjamin and decided that the song heavily relates to Miles. I'll try to have the next chapter done soon and if I can't, I'll post some time in October. I’ll see you next time!
Chapter 10: Shopping
Summary:
He’s gotten to know the Byers a bit better, more specifically Will and Jane. They spent most of their school time together and occasionally hang out afterwards. There's something about them that make him want to stick around them, something that screams of familiarity, whether it's a good or a bad way, he doesn't know yet.
Maybe he's reading too much into things.
Notes:
IMPORTANT!!Hey guys…look who’s been gone for months😅. I’m so sorry for the lack of updates since September, I’ve been busy with school, family, and writers block for this specific fic, but I’m back now! I’ve finished outlining the fic and know how it’ll end properly this time and I’ve also begun planning the sequel. I have other fics about the turning in the works (mainly crossovers or AUs!)so those will be out sometime this year hopefully, maybe updating at the same time this one is. I also want to say that the Byler tag has been removed, this fic is written by me but started out as an idea between me and a friend that really wanted the pairing in the story and a bunch of other things, that friend has given full control of the story due to losing interesting in the fandom and I’ve been working on it with another friend(Mel_Yin). We’ve made some changes like adding more chapters and Byler not happening, he won’t end up with Miles like previously stated, I just wanted so say this cause I didn’t want to give people false hope. Please reread the tags since there’s been slight changes. I hope you won’t be too disappointment due to the Byler cancellation since I wanted to focus it more on friendship. Once again I want to apologize for the horrible inconsistency writing😭. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It’s been a few weeks since they moved to Lenora and Miles doesn’t exactly hate it. School isn’t as bad as he thought it would be if you ignore dealing with Angela’s bullshit, she and stupid hair had stopped trying to convince him to eat lunch with them by day three. Classes were easier too, it turns out his old boarding school was further ahead in the curriculum so he already knew mostly everything they were teaching, it made his life a hundred times more easier.
He’s gotten to know the Byers a bit better, more specifically Will and Jane. They spent most of their school time together and occasionally hang out afterwards. There's something about them that makes him want to stick around them, something that screams of familiarity, whether it's a good or a bad way, he doesn't know yet.
Maybe he's reading too much into things.
Kate is the more tolerable one of the two these days as much as it pains him to say.Things between Rose and him have gone back to “normal” if you can even call it that, she hasn’t mentioned his little outburst, and he’s in no hurry to bring it back up. He wishes she’d stop staring at him though, staring at him like a wounded animal, he wasn’t one so he would appreciate it if she acted like nothing ever happened. He still hasn’t stopped throwing up the black vomit, he still has no idea what it is but the vomiting has lessened a bit, only happening every two weeks. He has a feeling it has something to do with Quint possessing him. That doesn’t matter though, the most important thing is that Flora is adjusting well to the place, she’s doing good, happier than ever.
She works on her lessons with Kate in the morning and plays for the rest in the afternoon. She’s gone back to her habit of leaving broken toys and mutilated dolls around the house, which give Kate and Rose heart attacks every time they find one. It finds it funny. Sometimes, she asks him to play dolls with her, other times they’ll hang out in Miles’s room with her coloring and him playing his guitar, those are his favorite days.
But today wasn’t one of those days, no today Miles found himself walking with Jane and Will behind him to his house for once. He can't remember which of the two had suggested it, it most likely was Jane. He unlocked the door and held it open as the other two stepped inside.
“Woah! Your house is so big!''She looked around, her eyes wide as she took in every aspect of the house. Will nodded and looked around in awe thinking , ‘sure it looks big on the outside but its even bigger on the inside.’Miles closed the door and walked over to the base of the stairs. “I guess, our old house was bigger though. It was a manor actually.” He quickly glanced around before looking back at him, Will’s jaw dropped as he stared at him in disbelief.
He held in a laugh before pointing at the stairs,”Uh do you want to see my room?” They nodded, he led them upstairs. He was glad Kate and Rose weren’t here, he wouldn’t know what shit they’d try to pull and they’d just be straight up annoying.“Too bad Flora’s not here.” he heard Jane say sadly as they walked down the hall. Kate and Rose had decided to take her to an antique shop, telling her that she’ll find lovely porcelain dolls to add to her collection. Hopefully she’s having fun, he nodded, they eventually stopped in front of a door at the very end and Miles opened it.
The two stared at the room in awe and wonder, the bed was set up in the middle, the night stand close by it’s side with a guitar stand on one side of the room and a drum set on the other. There was a picture of Kurt Cobain and some paintings decorating the practically bare walls, cords and a guitar amp laid near the bed, a bookshelf holding books and other trinkets, and lamps and small tables with a chair nearby were located randomly throughout the room with one sitting by a window. But what caught their attention the most was the terrarium sitting on top of a dresser.
Miles looked at them and then at the terrarium, he scanned the floor till he found what he was looking for. He crouched down and extended his hand to the small spider, it crawled onto his hand and he proceeded to lift it into the air. He stood back up and walked over to the terrarium, he opened the lid and dropped it in, quickly closing it. Jane got closer to the glasses while Will stared at him in confusion, the spider had barely moved around before Arachne popped out the hidden door and devoured it in seconds before going back in. Jane jumped back and Will’s eyes widened again, Miles chuckled. “That’s Arachne, careful, she bites.” He smiled, Jane stared at the spot where the spider had stood and then the hidden door, “She’s fast.” He laughed and nodded,”Don’t stick your hand in and you’ll be fine.” The two of them nodded.
Will looked out the window at the house across from them, the neighbors had already started setting up Christmas decorations. “I’m glad winter break started today.” He turned back to his friends, Jane smiled. “No Angela.” Miles nodded,”No Angela.” Miles walked over to one of the chairs and placed his school bag next to it before taking off his thick jacket and hanging it on it. “I think I heard her whining about the work packet they assigned us over break. It’s only two pages, it could’ve been worse.” He rolled his eyes as the other two got comfortable on his bed.
Jane perked up.“We should spend Christmas together like we did Thanksgiving!” She said excitedly as her eyes lit up. Thanksgiving had been surprisingly…nice, the last time he had attended a proper Thanksgiving dinner was before his parents died. It had been kind of fun, they had hung out till dinner was served and the food that had been almost on par with what Mrs.Grose would’ve made.
He kind of missed her, she was the closest thing he had as grandma for a while. She had gotten rid of Quint, perhaps that’s why he killed her. Even though she was responsible for his death, she didn’t deserve it. She had been good, he’d been a monster.
Christmas is another holiday they don’t celebrate as much, the only reason Mrs. Grose ever tried making it seem magical was for Flora’s sake, Christmas had long lost its magic on Miles. It would be nice to have a proper Christmas again, it would make Flora really happy.
“Yeah that sounds good, whose house should we do it at?”He asked, sitting down next to Will. She brought her hand up to her chin,”I don’t know, let’s let the grown ups decide!” She clasped her hands together, they both nodded. She quickly changed the subject and started a different conversation, smiling and grinning as she and Will talked and talked stories about Hawkins, Miles occasionally chiming in.
Laughter and smiles fill the room.
Miles leaned against the doorway as he waved Jane and Will bye, watching as they waved back and made their way home. He closed the door and headed back upstairs, if they were going to spend Christmas together, he would need to go gift shopping, not that he hadn’t planned on it but it would be more urgent now. He stepped into his room and sat down on his bed, he already had a vague idea of what he was going to buy everyone, what he didn’t have accessible to him at the moment was money.
Sure he could ask Kate and Rose for money, but in doing so, he would leave their bank accounts crying and empty after taking what he considers pocket change. Maybe he could call his uncle and have some money sent over, hopefully he will.
The sound of the down stairs door slamming opened pulled him out from his thoughts, when did they get back?” Excited footsteps ran up the stairs and quickly down his way, his lips spread into a smile, already knowing who it was.
The door flew open and Flora ran inside. ”Miles! Miles! Miles! Look! Look! Isn’t she pretty?” She had a huge grin on her face as she held up her new doll, proudly showing him. “Kate got me two others but this is my favorite!” He studied the doll well, the governess hadn't been lying when she said that the dolls would be similar to the ones his sister already has. “She is, have you chosen a name for her yet?” His smile grew, she nodded.”Yeah! Her name is Margot.” Flora lowered her down as Miles ruffled her hair a little,”It’s a good name, she looks like a Margot.” His sister giggled before perking up,”Oh yeah, Kate and Rose said to go down stairs, they want to talk about tomorrow.” She turned around and skipped her way out, he waited till he heard her door shut before sighing in annoyance, what did they want now?
He got up and began making his way down the hall, He was a few steps away from his door when he stopped. Miles' eyes widened as he froze, what if Rose told Kate about the incident? His breath hitched, what if she’s been waiting till she thought he forgot about it to bring it up…shit! He dug his nails into his arm, what if they took him away from Flora? He unlatched his hand and ran it through his hair, ‘Calm down, you’re probably freaking out over nothing.’ He was getting ahead of himself, Flora had mentioned tomorrow, maybe they were just letting him know about plans during break? He took a deep breath before quickly making his way down the stairs, putting a frown on his face.
Kate and Rose were chatting in the kitchen by the counter as he approached, Kate glanced at him and smiled, “Hey, did Jane and Will leave already?” He nodded,”Yeah.” He looked at Rose, she stared right back at him. They held eye contact for a few seconds before she cleared her throat, looking at Kate who looked confused for a second before the light bulb went off in her head, “You started winter break today right? No school tomorrow?” Miles nodded again, her smile grew. “Oh good, we were planning on going gift shopping. We’ve been talking with Joyce and we’ve agreed to host Christmas at our house, we thought it would be fun for all of you kids.”
He mentally kicked himself, he had been overreacting after all, he was so fucking stupid. Of course Rose wouldn't tell Kate now, she’d wait till after Christmas to not ruin the mood. She was still in the dark which he’s thankful for but if Kate refers to him as a kid one more time, he swears to whatever god there is out there he will end her or himself. “Sounds interesting, but how are you going to manage to pay for everything? You seriously have that much money to spend even with your new salary?” He asked in a borderline mocking and genuine tone. Rose looked like she was ready to tear him a new one and Kate’s smile looked more forced, pretending she didn’t understand what he just said. In his defense, he just wanted to make sure that buying cheap gifts doesn’t leave him homeless on the streets.
“I was getting to that.” One of her eyes twitched, she grabbed her purse from the counter and pulled out two envelopes, “I’ve been talking with your uncle and we’ve come to the decision that you two should get a monthly allowance.” She offered him one of the envelopes, he took it hesitantly.”I don’t know what the final amount he chose is, but it should be enough ” Miles quickly counted the bills, it was three thousand dollars, yeah it’ll do.
Both Kate’s and Rose’s jaws dropped, just he smiled. “You’re right Kate, this is enough.” He was trying so hard not to burst out laughing, the looks on their faces! “Tell my uncle I said thank you, anything else?” That seemed to snap them out of their shocks,” No, just wanted to give you a heads up. Dinner will be ready in a few hours.” He nodded before heading upstairs.
Well there goes his plans of doing nothing tomorrow.
When Kate said they were going gift shopping, he thought they’d go in the afternoon, NOT AT NINE IN THE FUCKING MORNING! One thing about Miles is that he is NOT a morning person, whenever it’s the weekend, he avoids getting up before eleven if he can. So when Kate sent Flora to wake him up to drag him out of bed at seven-thirty in the morning, he was the farthest thing from happy he could be. He was barely conscious throughout brushing his teeth, getting dressed, and eating breakfast.
He wasn’t even sure if he was fully conscious now.
It didn’t help that he already struggled falling asleep at night, Kate and Rose had decided to interrupt his well needed sleep-in day so they were going to have to deal with his moody ass all day long, they brought this upon themselves.
Miles rubbed an eye with one of his hands as he tried remembering the mental list he’d made of the gifts he’d thought of.
He sighed.
It’s too early for this.
Flora kicked her legs excitedly in the seat next to him, chatting away with Rose, she’s always been quite the morning bird compared to him. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window, he’ll just close his eyes for a bit.
“Are you sleepy?” He heard his sister ask, Miles shook his head slightly.”No, I want to rest a bit before we get there.” He could tell she was nodding before going back to chatting with Rose, this time in a quieter tone, he slightly smiled.
After a while, he felt the car pull into a parking lot. He opened his eyes and blinked for a bit, allowing his eyes to adjust back to the brightness before gazing out the window at the bright and colorful sign that spelled out Leanora Hills Mall.
Miles stared at it blankly, he’s never been to a mall before. He’d heard people at the boarding school talk about them but none of them had gone to one either. He didn’t know what to expect honestly, its different knowing what something is supposed to be and what it actually is. The four of them piled out of the car, Kate being the last to get out. “This should only take a couple of hours! We can eat something at the food court afterwards, anything you want.” She said with a smile before she motioned them to follow her to the entrance. Flora held Miles’s hand, he smiled and began to swing his arm as she skipped.
Warm air hit them the second they stepped in, it felt nice compared to the cold wind outside, loud voices echoed around, music played from speakers all around. Miles looked around, staring at all the people and stores around him. It almost felt suffocating, he inhaled and sighed before glancing at Flora. Her eyes were shining, wide as saucers as she looked around. “Miles! Look at all the colors! It's so pretty here!” She pointed at the paintings on the ceiling, murals filled with animals and fluffy clouds. He smiled and looked at her, “Mhm, if it gets too loud for you, tell me and we can step outside, ok?” She nodded,”Ok!”
Flora nodded before Rose spoke,“Why don’t we buy stuff for the Byers first, then we can split up and buy gifts for each other last?” Kate smiled,”That sounds good, Flora, what do you want to get first?” She thought for a second, “Can we look for a bracelet maker? It’s gonna be for Jane!” The governess laughed,”Well then let’s get her the best one we can find!”
By the end of the first hour they had managed to get all the gifts for the Byers, he was kind of surprised it took them that long. Flora had gotten Jane the kit and Will some art supplies of sorts. After a while of debating, the two adults had gotten Mrs.Joyce a record along with some Vinyls.
They had spent the last 20 minutes looking for something Jonathan would enjoy, he wasn’t exactly close with the older boy, he just thought it would be good to show him his thanks through a gift, the guy had convinced his friend to drop and pick him up from school after all. Despite knowing him for a month, he still didn’t know him enough to know what he’ll like. What he did know was that he liked weed, but it wasn’t like Miles could give him that. In the end, he got him a polaroid, he mentally thanked Will for that one time he rambled about his brother's love for cameras.
Hopefully it will do.
Before he had even stepped foot into the mall, he had already had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to give his friends, the gifts are a bit cheap but it’ll be fine.
He searched through three stores till he found what he was looking for, paint. Back at the boarding school, when he had taken art, he remembered the fine quality and texture of the oil paints they had been given access to, luckily he had been able to find the same brand or at least one similar to it, he can't remember. Will had begun to run out of oils so this was perfect, now he would be able to make his art even better. He had gotten him some new brushes as well, he knew that artists could never have too much of anything.
Shopping for Jane had proven to be a little more harder than he thought it would, surprisingly. He knew he wanted to give her a walkman like the one he had, it seemed like something she would enjoy, the problem was what music to give it with. He knew she liked Madonna, what else? Maybe she would be interested in his music taste? Flora and Will were, it wouldn't hurt to try. He ended up choosing the Nevermind album and some Queen, one can never go wrong with Queen.
It was a good thing Rose had brought up the idea of going to put the bags in the car, it would've been annoying to carry them around. He heard Kate clear her throat, grabbing their attention, he turned his head to look at her. She smiled,”Well, it's time to split up, how should we do it?”
“How about the kids go their way and we go ours? We can meet up at that Merry-Go-Round over there in let's say…an hour?” He nodded, that worked for him. Flora waved at them as she and Miles walked away. “Don’t let go of my hand while we walk ok? Wouldn’t want to lose you in the crowd.” He gave her hand a light squeeze, she nodded and squeezed back, swinging their arms a little looking around till something caught her attention. “Let’s go in there!” He turned to see what she was pointing at, he was met with a jewelry store with a name he’s never heard of. Flora dragged him inside, she let go of his hand and peered into the different display cases one by one.
“You’re gonna get them jewelry?”
“Mhm!”
“I think they’ll like anything you give them.”
She moved onto another display,”I know, but I want to get them something nice because they’ve been nice to us.” Miles shrugged, after a few minutes, Flora tugged his sleeve and pointed at one of the glass displays. “What about these?” He walked over and peered down, two necklaces sat on a small display, each one had half of a small heart attached to the chain, by some coincidence, they had Kate and Rose’s initials in the middle. “Yeah those are nice.” She grinned,”They are best friend necklaces cause you know, they’re best friends but! They could also be couple necklaces.” He hummed,“Yeah, they could be.”
After a bit, they walked out with the necklaces in hand. They walked around for another while, while he could claim he helped Flora out with getting the jewelry, he still needed to get the two women something, it’d count as common courtesy.
In the end, he chose a coat for Kate and a music CD for Rose. The coat was similar to the ones he’s seen the governess wear and he picked out a random Mitski album since he didn’t know which ones Rose had. They should be thankful he put in some effort into choosing their gifts, he could’ve gotten them something worse.
They got to the Merry Go Round fifteen minutes before the hour was up, he thought for a bit before tugging Flora’s hand, she looked up at him, “Want to go on it?” He smiled, she grinned at him and nodded,”Ok then! Let's go!” They walked over and he pulled out some money, they allowed him to get on with her since she needed a guardian. It had been fun, not because he was on a plastic horse going around in circles at an agonizingly slow pace, but because Flora was having fun, she was enjoying herself and that was all that mattered.
They went on it over and over till the hour was up.
“I see you two had fun.” Kate smiled, Flora nodded as they walked over to the pair. He sighed, he wanted to go back to the house already. There’s too many people here, it feels suffocating, and he’s tired. He was so tired that he almost missed Kate announcing that they were splitting up in pairs again, he would’ve been fine with it if he hadn’t been paired up with Rose. He opened his mouth but no sound came out, he couldn’t protest not without Kate and Flora thinking something was up. He quietly sighed and stayed quiet, Rose just looked at him with a raised brow, he glared at her. He felt his sister’s hand slip out of his and watched it go into the governess’s.
She smiled at the two of them,”We’ll meet up here in an hour again, ok? Have fun shopping you two!” Flora and Kate waved at them before leaving the two in awkward silence, Rose was the one who sighed this time,”Let's get something for your sister first, yeah?” He curtly nodded before choosing a random direction to walk in. He already knew what he was gonna get Flora, she loved dolls and doll houses, she could never have enough dolls and doll houses. It took him 20 minutes but he eventually found a shop that sold dollhouses up to his standards, it was a Victorian dollhouse antique. He knew that it was one of the houses Flora had been obsessing over getting all year, he bought everything that the house itself didn’t include like the miniature dolls and accessories. The store clerk assured them that the house would be delivered to them before Christmas even, good. Miles walked out of the shop with bags in his hands and a small smile on his face, Flora was gonna love her gift!
Sadly, Rose still had to buy a gift for Kate, which meant more following Rose around the never ending mall. Rose had dragged him to some clothing shop with a stupid name he couldn't bother to try pronouncing and let him sit in a few chairs in the middle of the store. The universe couldn’t grant Miles peace apparently because fifteen minutes after Rose had committed child abandonment, two of the people he hated most walked in. He could recognize the awful sounds that were supposed to be human laughter for they belonged to Stacey and stupid hair, whose real name as Miles found out later was Jake. He tried to seem like he was very interested in a nearly empty clothing rack so as to not draw attention to himself, he really wasn’t in the mood to interact with idiots with brains the size of a cherry seed, it’d give him a headache.
One again, the universe proved it hated Miles by sending them his way. Stupid hair walked by him without noticing, sadly Stacey did. “Miles! Is that you?” He sighed and gave her an annoyed smile,”Yep.” He was very tempted to go find Rose right now. “What are you doing here? Buying clothes for your girlfriend? That would make sense considering all she wears is rags.” She laughed like she had just said the funniest thing ever.” If Jane’s wearing rags then what the hell are you wearing?” Miles grinned. Stacey’s jaw dropped and Jake looked angry. “Got them from fashion week in hell or something?”
“You take that back right now!”
“We don’t wanna hear it from the New York pompous spider freak!” Jake glared, pointing a finger at him “What? Did I hurt your feelings or something? Honestly, how does Angela put up with you and your stupid looking hair? If I were you I’d be too embarrassed to leave the house.” He looked like he was one second away from punching him.
He must have made some piss poor choices in the past because he didn't even notice Rose approaching them which he desperately wishes he had.
“Miles, I paid already. We’re leaving.” Rose said, standing by one of the racks with a neutral expression on her face. Out of all the times she could show up, she shows up at the worst, why couldn't she show up after?
“Go on Miles! Go running back to mommy!” Jake Sneered and He. Lost. It. He couldn't explain why but for some reason that was his last straw. Miles shot up and gently threw the bags on the chair before pulling his arm back and swinging his fist right into his face. He let out a cry as blood began dripping from his nose. Stacey let out a gasp before rushing to help him. “Miles! What the fuck!”Rose grabbed the bags before trying to yank him away from them, he slapped her hand away. “Right, because daddy issues are soooo last season for you right?” He gave him a forced smile,”Say shit like that again and I’ll curb stomp you!” He doesn't know why it's bothering him so much, the guys at the boarding school had said so much worse but this had made him see red? It just doesn’t make sense.
This time Rose tightly gripped his shoulder,”Miles. We’re. Leaving.” He glared at her before scoffing, he took the bags from Rose and was silent as they walked out of the store, Jake's cries slowly fading away. He probably broke his nose, good, he wasn’t going to lose sleep over it. After a bit Rose stopped walking and turned around.
“What the fuck just happened in there?”
Notes:
This chapter took a life of its own, so much of it was improvised and unexpected! I made it a bit longer than my usual 2,000 words to make up for the time I was gone. There’s a very small reference to another fic I’m working on! (I wonder if anyone will notice it?it’s like very small and will only make sense if you know the method Miles is talking about) I’ll be updating once or twice a month again! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Edit:Hi! I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ve made some changes to previous chapters like bonus paragraphs,grammar and stuff in my opinion needed to be added, some chapters are barely changed, not being really noticeable. I’ve done this before as mentioned in the authors note in chapter 6. The edited chapters are 4,5,6,7,8,9 and 10. You can reread them if you want but it’s not necessary, you won’t miss anything too big or plot related.
Chapter 11: Talks.
Summary:
The trip to the mall had been going great.
They’d all been enjoying themselves, going from store to store, picking things out, hell–even Miles looked like he was having fun. When she’d gone into one of the stores to pick out some things for Kate, she’d left him sitting by a couple of chairs and mirrors near the shoe section since he looked tired, thinking that nothing could happen while she shopped.
Apparently, she’d been wrong.
Notes:
Hey! Sorry for being a it late with the update, been busy with school but here’s your monthly chapter as promised!! I hope you enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Rose feels stupid.
So fucking stupid.
Why’d she ever think that taking the kids to the mall would end without any problems? She doesn’t know, but she should’ve known something would happen. Things had been tense between her and Miles ever since the incident in his room a few weeks ago, it became very clear that neither of them wanted to bring it up as the weeks went by. She may not be an expert on kids like Kate is but she does know a few things, one of them being that no normal kid reacts that way when someone puts a hand on their shoulder. Miles had looked like he was seconds away from a panic attack, which she was pretty sure he had after she left. They may not be on the best terms with each other but that hasn’t stopped her from being worried about him. Something in her gut tells her that it has to do with that stupid mansion and why the three of them act so weird anytime it's brought up.
It wasn’t just the death of the maid, her gut told her that it was something else. While they had been living at the apartment, Kate would sometimes wake up in cold sweat or screaming. Her and Miles would sometimes glance around as if they were being watched, fear lingered in everything they did, even Flora would stare weirdly at her window and shadow as if expecting something to happen. Seeing a corpse shouldn’t do that to you, it was creepy and worrisome. Sure Kate had promised to explain it all to her but it’s been weeks since she made that promise and anytime it's brought up, she dodges it and changes the topic. Rose swears she will find out what happened, whether they like it or not.
The trip to the mall had been going great.
They’d all been enjoying themselves, going from store to store, picking things out, hell–even Miles looked like he was having fun. When she’d gone into one of the stores to pick out some things for Kate, she’d left him sitting by a couple of chairs and mirrors near the shoe section since he looked tired, thinking that nothing could happen while she shopped.
Apparently, she’d been wrong.
She paid before going to get him, knowing that if she was in his shoes, she wouldn’t want to wait in a line, waiting for someone to pay for stuff that had nothing to do with her. When she’d approached him, she hadn’t expected to see two other teenagers with him, she would’ve thought they were friends if the boy and the girl didn’t look like they wanted to kill him right then and there while Miles was staring at them with a shit-eating grin on his face. She tried making out what they were saying as she got closer with no luck. His grin got wider and he tilted his head as she approached, “What? Did I hurt your feelings or something? Honestly, how does Angela put up with you and your stupid looking hair? If I were you I’d be too embarrassed to leave the house.” His words must have really struck a nerve considering the other boy looked seconds away from clocking Miles right in the face. Just what the fuck was going on? Was Miles being an asshole or was he defending himself? Even with no context, she knows that if she doesn’t step in, fist were gonna start flying through the air.
“Miles, I paid already. We’re leaving.” She said once she was close enough for him to hear her. He snapped his head towards her, glaring at her with a look that said, ‘Stay the hell out of this.’ Before she could say anything, the boy with the sunglasses got his attention. “Go on Miles! Go running back to mommy!” He’d sneered, but she knew before they did, that those words had broken the camel's back.
Miles had placed his bags on his chair after standing up before slamming his fist straight into the other guy’s face, a small crack was heard and blood began to drip from his nose. The girl rushed to help him and he let out a cry “Miles! What the fuck!” She’d grabbed the bags before trying to pull him away from them, forgetting that the last time she tried that, she’d almost been on the other end of that punch. He slapped her hand away, wearing a weird smile on his face. “Right, because daddy issues are soooo last season for you right?” His smile grew wider, “Say shit like that again and I’ll curb stomp you!” She looked around, checking to see if the kid’s parents or if anyone was paying attention to the scene happening in front of her before turning back to him.
Hopefully the kid will be fine and they won’t need to involve the authorities, the kid didn’t even look that bad.
This time Rose tightly gripped his shoulder, “Miles. We’re. Leaving.” She said sternly, leaving no room for argument. He glared at her, she glared right back. He scoffed, before taking the bags from her and was silent as they walked out of the store, away from the two panicking teens. She didn’t stop walking till she was a good couple of stores away from the previous one, Rose turned around and stopped in front of him.
“What the fuck just happened in there?”
Miles glared at her, gripping the bags harshly. “It’s none of your fucking business!” Rose pointed in the store's vague direction and threw the glare right back in his face, “It is my fucking business, you just broke a kid's nose right in front of me!” She hissed, he narrowed his eyes. “He deserved it!” He crossed his arms, she wanted to strangle him. “Miles. you could get arrested for this!” His eyes widened, she could see flickers of panic and fear creep into them, as if the thought just occurred to him. “That doesn’t matter, I could just bail myself out, or pay off the cops.” He smirked. Rose’s eye twitched, “That’s not the point Miles.”
She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, ‘benefit of the doubt’ she told herself. The kid believed the sunglasses boy had deserved it, Miles was also an orphan, so the mommy comment must’ve struck something. She’ll ask him for his side of the story before deciding anything, she’ll try for Kate’s and Flora’s sakes because she knows jack shit about parenting and isn’t the one getting paid for dealing with this. She removed her hand and looked at him, “Explain to me what happened.” He clearly hadn’t expected her reaction, seeing as his eyes slightly widened before crossing his arms and locking eyes with her. He was quiet for a minute before opening his mouth, “You can’t tell Mrs.Byers about this.” She squinted at him confused as she nodded. What did Joyce have to do with this? “Those two, along with another girl at school, like to bully Jane, scratch that, they like to harass her.” He glared at the floor, “They leave Will alone but they tried to get me to join in my first week at school and give me some shit since I obviously didn’t. They were saying somethings about her and me, and I don’t let people talk shit about me.”
His tone got angrier as he continued, her face softened. She understood, she’d had her fair experiences with bullies when she was younger, “He also tried making fun of my mother.” His voice grew cold and he turned his gaze to the floor. While Rose didn’t condone senseless violence, she did approve of giving bullies a taste of their own medicine. “I get it, kids are assholes, and I'm all for defending yourself and your friends but,” He looked at her, “You can’t go around beating people up.” Miles sighed and nodded, “Well at least not in public, next time, find an alley or something.” She told him half jokingly. She could’ve sworn he almost smiled.
“I won’t tell Kate about this, not unless I have to.” This was her attempt at an olive branch, she hopes he’ll take it, and if he doesn’t, then she can say she tried. He nodded, “Is this your idea of a truce?” he tilted his head, “You could say that.” She shrugged.
“We need to start heading back, the hour is almost over.” He nodded, she glanced at the hand he used to punch the guy. “Is your hand ok?” He smirked a bit before smugly replying, “You should see the other guy.” Rose snorted, “But, yeah it'll be fine.” Miles finally answered as he looked down at his hand and flexed his fingers. They were slightly bruised, but at least he hadn't cut them on teeth. He knows that would hurt like a bitch while healing and he'd probably have the risk of getting an infection. Rose nodded before she started walking back to the meeting point, he quietly followed behind.
She hoped the truce would last.
What was left of anger faded completely once they met up with Flora and Kate, seeing his sister again made him forget all about Jake and Stacey. He smiled as she swung their arms back and forth while walking to the car, listening attentively as she talked about how fun shopping had been and how he’ll love his gifts while the two older women walked behind them, chatting.
He ended up falling asleep on the way home, he hadn’t meant to, he only realized it when he woke up to the feeling of his face pressed up against the window, the car already in the driveway with the smell of pizza in the air. “Sleeping beauty’s finally up,” He heard Rose laugh as he sat up groggily. “We stopped for food on the way back, Kate and Flora are already inside. Help me get the bags out of the car.” He rubbed his eyes for a few seconds before nodding and unbuckling his seat belt and getting the bags nearest to him and getting out of the car. He was starving, pizza sounded really good at the moment.
They left the bags next to the ones Flora and Kate had brought in and headed to the kitchen. His sister was already eating while Kate got her plate ready, she looked at him and smiled. “Did you sleep well?” He didn’t respond, “Which one’s which?” He asked, pointing at the pizza boxes sitting on the counter. “The one on the right is Pepperoni, the middle one is Cheese and the one on the left is Hawaiian.” She replied, her tone sounding less cheerful than before, he wasn’t trying to be rude, he was just hungry. He gave her a nod and grabbed a plate and placed one pepperoni and one cheese on it before sitting next to Flora, Kate and Rose joined them after a bit. He smiled and laughed as Flora told him a story of how Kate and her had played hide and seek in one of the stores they’d gone to. He later found out it had just been Flora actively hiding from the governess, while the governess panicked about not being able to find her, from a mortified Kate.
When they finished eating, he grabbed his bags and made his way upstairs. He was too tired and drained to deal with anything and anyone right now, except Flora, he could deal with her all day, any day.
“Shit.” Rose muttered as she looked through the sea of bags for the second, she couldn’t find the bags that had the things she’d bought for Kate, did she leave them in the car? She shook her head, no, she’d made sure all the bags were inside before locking it. Maybe the kid took them? But why would he? Her eyes fell on the bags she was hundred percent sure belonged to Miles seeing as there were cassettes and art supplies in them. Then it clicked, the two stores' bags had very similar logos on them, he must’ve grabbed hers by mistake. She sighed, picked them up and went upstairs.
As she knocked on his door, she got hit with deja vu. “Miles? Can I come in?” After a few seconds she heard a yes. She opened the door, he was sitting on a chair near the window, the bags were abandoned by his closet. “I think you mixed up our bags, these have the gifts you bought your friends.” She lifted the ones she was holding, a small ‘oh’ left his mouth as he looked at them and then at the bags near the closet before getting up to pick them up. “Here.” He handed them to her as he took back his, she thanked him.
She looked around, getting a proper look at the room while he put the bags where the others had been. “Interesting setup you got here.” He hummed, as he sat back on his chair. “It’s similar to the one back at the manor.” There it was again, the manor. The manor in which obviously something bad had happened. She kept seeing the image of Miles absolutely terrified of her in her head. She knew Kate was worried about him, back when she’d told Rose her concerns, she’d just brushed them off and thought nothing of them, at least till a few weeks ago. She sighed, she’d avoided asking him about the incident and checking in on him for too long. Like they say, no time like the present, right?
Rose sat down on one of many chairs scattered around the room, “Hey uhh…” He stared at her curiously, god, Kate was the one good with kids, not her. “Can we talk about something?” He tilted his head slightly with a confused yet wary expression, “Sure?” She clasped her hands on her lap, “It’s about what happened a few weeks ago, are you ok?” His face went blank before hardening and his grip on the armrests tightened, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” His tone had a slight edge to it, a small warning telling her to back off. So he wasn’t ok, that much was clear. “It’s just that, when I put my hand on your shoulder, you freaked out. You looked like you were on the brink of having a panic attack.” His eyes narrowed, “I overreacted, you just startled me.”
“Miles, people don’t normally react like that to someone putting a hand on their shoulder, even if they’re startled. You looked… absolutely terrified.” He didn’t say anything and just looked away, he started bouncing his leg up and down. “I know you’re probably dealing with a lot, losing someone close to you is hard. And you’re dealing with something else, panic attacks, anxiety-” She paused, how could she have not realized it sooner? He reacted badly to sudden physical contact, he immediately got defensive and on guard of any sort of questioning or checking in on, and due to this little display earlier, it doesn’t seem like he’s a stranger to violence. Did he think she was gonna hit him? The more she thought about it, the more it would make sense if he was. His face had slightly faded back to confusion, “Miles, did you ever feel unsafe in your old house? Did your parents ever hit you?” She was too forward about it, shit! Now he won’t tell her anything, stupid Rose! Maybe she can still salvage the attempt?
He looked shocked, “Excuse me?” The teen choked out, “Were you ever hi-” “What? No!” She couldn’t read his expression,”Why would you even ask that?” Anger started leaking into his face, he stopped bouncing his leg. “It's just the way you react to sudden contact and how you’re always being so defensive to almost everyone, those things match up with abuse victims.” She tried keeping her voice gentle and sympathetic, maybe she should’ve asked Kate to help her with this, probably inform her of her suspicions, she should’ve told her weeks ago, she would know how to handle this, she was trained for this as a teacher, right?
He stood up,“I’m not a victim of anything! My parents didn’t hit me, they’d never do that! No one ever has!” Miles yelled at her, fists clenched tightly against his sides. When she looked into his eyes, all she saw was pure, unadulterated anger mixed with fragments of disbelief and hatred. Had she read the situation wrong? Fuck, she had, hadn’t she?
“We can’t help you deal with everything you obviously need to deal with if you don’t tell us anything. Kate’s your legal guardian till you’re eighteen, it’s her job to help you and make sure you’re fine. It’s my job now too, seeing as I’m the other adult living here.” She tried again as she stood up, keeping her hands in front of her.
“We? Did- did Kate put you up to this?”
“No, but she’s worried about you.”
“I don't need anyone’s help! Especially not yours!” Angry tears started forming at the corners of his eyes, regret and guilt started sinking in. “Miles, I just want to help-” “No! Fuck you and your fucking ‘help’!” He began to breathe heavily and shake “Get out.” She didn’t move, he picked up a small pillow that was on the chair and threw it at the wall behind her, she flinched slightly and stared at him in shock. “GET THE FUCK OUT!” He screamed.
The door swung open, “What is going on here?” They both snapped their heads towards the voice, Kate was standing in the doorway, her face contorted in worry and confusion.
Shit!
“Telling him that I’m just trying to help.” She jabbed her hand towards the teen exasperated, he glared at her venomously, “Telling her that she needs to back the fuck off and get out of my fucking room!”
A look of shock crossed her face before morphing into one of anger, just as she was about to speak, Rose motioned at her to stop. “Ok, I’ll leave, and I’m sorry for making any accusations. Just know that I meant what I said about helping you.” She told him as she looked at him before walking to the door and closing it, leaving with Kate.
She fucked up, she royally fucked up.
“Can you explain to me what was going on when I walked in?”
Kate borderline demanded as soon as they reached the living room, too many emotions crossing her face.
She would’ve never noticed the fight if she hadn’t been walking down the hall. It would’ve been hard to miss someone yell, “GET THE FUCK OUT!” at the top of their lungs, even through the thick walls. She’d been expecting some sort of burglar to be in the room based on the way Miles had screamed, what she hadn’t expected was Rose to be the reason for it. Kate knew Rose didn’t tolerate people screaming at her or being extreme, so imagine her surprise when she hears Miles cursing at Rose and she doesn’t reprimand or curse back at him, but instead apologizes and stops her from saying anything.
The other woman sighed, turning to look at her with an expression mixed with defeat and slivers of regret. “It’s…a long story.” She crossed her arms as she sat down on the couch. “We have time Rose.” She sighed and sat down, “A few weeks ago, when Miles first hung out with Joyce’s kids, the day when you were making dinner and you told me to go get him, there was…an incident.” Her brows furrowed, “He couldn’t hear me because he had his headphones over his head with the music blasting at full volume, so I put my hand on his shoulder, I understand that something like that would startle anyone but his first response was trying to punch me.” Kate’s eyes widened, “What?” Rose nodded before continuing.
“I managed to avoid it, and I was fully ready ask him why the fuck he’d tried doing that, but when I saw the look on his face…” She trailed off, her face morphed into concern and she placed a hand on her head. “God, Kate, you should’ve seen it. He looked absolutely terrified, I think he thought I was gonna hurt him or something, I don’t think he knew it was me at first.”
By the sound of it, it was the same expression that he’d had when she’d found him in his room before they’d escaped. . .‘Quint’ Her mind supplies, ‘Miles thought she was Quint.’ And that broke her heart. It added to her suspicions that Miles resented or hated Quint for more than just not letting him leave, it increased her worries.
“He looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack, so I left him alone. I thought based on his reaction to sudden physical contact and him constantly being defensive among other things, maybe he’d been physically abused by his parents or something like that. I tried talking to him about it since we finally got on ok terms today and as you saw, it didn't go well.”
She exhaled tiredly, and looked at her “I should’ve talked to you about it before confronting him first, you know more about these kinds of things and how to deal with them better than I do. And I shouldn’t have just straight up assumed that his parents hit him, they were pretty strong allegations. I’m just concerned, the kid may be an ass but he’s still just a kid and seeing him like that just makes me want to help, even if he’s stubborn as hell and won't accept it, you know?”
She nodded, she did know. She felt the same exact way. Everything that had gone down in the manor had been horrible for the three of them, she wasn't that surprised it was affecting Miles like this. She herself had been terrorized by Quint’s ghost, she can't imagine how he must've tormented the boy. Even now, sometimes it still feels like someone’s watching her, like a hand will pop out and grab her, but then she’ll turn around and no one will be there.
She’s been trying to give Flora and Miles some space to process everything. Now she regrets giving them too much.
“I do,” She put her hand on Rose’s free one and gave it a light squeeze, “You were trying to help and that’s a good thing, like you said, we can try helping together next time.” She offered her a small smile, Rose gave her a weak one back. “I know.” She looked at the ground.
They both went quiet for a minute.
“Hey, are you ever gonna tell me what you promised to explain to me? You said that everything was different, what did you mean by that?” Rose turned to her, and she gave her that look, a look that she knew well. It was a look that Rose started giving her years ago, whenever Kate was hiding something important or not telling her about something that was affecting negatively, she’d give her that look. A look that made Kate remember that she can tell Rose anything and she’d still love her, no matter what. And it usually worked, it would trigger a waterfall of words to pour out of her mouth and the negativity and stress would pour out with them. But this time, this time, the words will be still and calculated. The spill won’t come because she can’t let it. The look always works but this time, she’ll resist it.
“The mansion was creepy and old, the shadows were always playing tricks on my eyes and mind, that's all, that's why I was freaking out.” She gave Rose her best attempt as a fake, genuinely sounding laugh, but it came out as stiff and awkward. “And, we’re taking care of two kids now. That’s why things are different now.” Kate knew it wasn’t going to fool Rose, but what else can she say?
Rose lightly scoffed, a look of pain muddled with disbelief crossed her face. “Yeah.” She stood up, “Things are different because you don’t trust me anymore, not like before.” She walked away, tears began to prick her eyes. Kate's eyes widened, immediately starting to call for her to come back, “Rose! Wait! That’s not true!” But she didn’t listen, she was up the stairs before Kate could get another word out. Kate wishes she could tell Rose the truth, she really does, but she wouldn’t believe her, especially due to her mother’s history.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, she can’t remember a time where they’ve ever fought like this.
A lot of people have said all kinds of things about Miles’s parents after their deaths, but no one has ever accused them of child abuse. Just who the fuck does Rose think she is? He hit the crash cymbal again, he’d thrown a few pillows at the wall before switching to his drums, something about hitting them just made things better. He was fine! Maybe not completely fine, but fine enough to function, he scoffed before hitting the hi- and mid- toms. Help? She wanted to ‘help’ him? He doesn’t need help, fuck her and her behavior analysis she probably got from a stupid crime show. If he was being jumpy and defensive, it was his own fucking business, not hers.
After a while, his arms grew tired and he just sat there and stared at the wall, trying to cling onto what was left of his anger. The knock on the door snapped him out of it, he stared at the door murderously. “Didn’t I tell you to fuck off?”
“It’s Kate, can I come in?” He frowned, he can’t catch a break can he? “Sure.” He gave her the most annoyed and flattest tone he could muster. He looked at his drums as the door opened. “Come to reprimand me for yelling at your girlfriend or something?” He slightly teased with a flat tone and turned to glare at her, his eyes widened slightly at the sight of her. Her eyes were puffy and red, dried tear streaks were on her cheeks. She looked absolutely miserable, even more miserable than she’d been at the manor. Did she get into a fight with Rose about him?
He gave her a curt nod, slightly amused that she didn't deny the accusation, but seeing how miserable she looked, he wasn't surprised she hadn't caught his teasing. He glanced at a chair near the drumset before looking back at her.
“No, I just want to talk and apologize about what she said.” He gave her a curt nod, slightly amused that she didn't deny the accusation, but seeing how miserable she looked, he wasn't surprised she hadn't caught his teasing. He glanced at a chair near the drumset before looking back at her. She took a seat and fiddled with her hands, “She shouldn't have accused your parents of something like that, if she knew about what happened in the manor, she would've never said that about them.” She looked at him, her voice sounded shakey. “I know that due to everything that happened there, the three of us have been jumpy and on edge, but she just worried because she doesn't know, she didn't mean any harm.”
“That doesn’t matter, if she keeps being nosey, she’ll hear us talk about it and then off to the loony bin we’ll go.” He frowned, she gave him a small glare before taking a deep breath. “I know, she’ll never believe us so we need to come up with something believable, or there might be more instances like this.”
He nodded, he hated how she was right. “Did you two fight?” He asked hesitantly, addressing the elephant in the room. She winced slightly before nodding, “She knows something happened, but like you said, we can’t tell her the truth and she’s mad about that.” He hummed in response, ‘so trouble in paradise?’ he thought to himself amused.
Now that they were talking about the manor, he might as well clear up something, he was many things but he was NOT and would NEVER be someone like Quint. He dragged his hands down his face and sighed exasperatedly, already regretting the decision before even saying a word, it regained her attention. “While we’re talking about the manor, I need to tell you something about what happened there and about the ghosts.” She nodded and looked at him.
“All of the weird things I did back at the manor, like the kiss and sneaking into your room, I didn’t do them. I mean, yeah I was physically doing them, but I wasn't in control of my body or at least not in those moments, Quint was.” He dug his nails into his jeans as anger and hatred began slipping into his voice. The governess’s eyes widened, “Like possession? Quint…possessed you?”
“No, he made me take a vacation from my body.” He snapped before letting out a breath, getting angry now won’t do anything to help. “Yeah he possessed me, I got possessed.” He sighed angrily before looking down trying to calm down, he can’t be mad at her for not being able to connect the dots. “I had moments of clarity where I could control my body but most of the time it was him, he was the one who… said and did all those things.” He spoke stiffly and awkwardly, a look of realization crossed her face. “I’m not like him, I swear! I’d never do the shit he did.” He kept his gaze on the floor. He hopes she'll believe him, he doesn't want to lumped with him and be labeled as a freak for something he had no control of. “I believe you Miles,” Kate spoke softly, he looked at her. “That explains a lot actually. Thank you for telling me that.” He nodded and looked away feeling relief wash over him like a waterfall, “That must’ve been hard for you.” He looked at her and motioned her to stop, “I don’t want to talk about it anymore, I just wanted to let you know.”
“Oh.” She looked out the window, she was quiet before talking again, “This fresh start has been good for us, Flora’s getting out more, you’ve made friends, we’re slowly learning to get over our traumas.” Kate smiled at him as she stood up, brushing herself off. He didn’t respond. ”I’ll get dinner started in a bit, I’ll see you then I guess?” He nodded and watched her walk out and close the door, Miles sighed before getting up and collapsing on to his bed.
What a fucking day, he needs another fucking nap.
Notes:
I’d like to thank everyone for their support on the fic once again!! Next month, I’ll be starting a new fic the same day I upload a new chapter to be sure to look forward to that!! There is techniques a slight reference to it in this fic, Mel like always, already knows what it is.
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Angela (Guest) on Chapter 1 Wed 10 May 2023 01:08PM UTC
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Experiment_ur_mom3 on Chapter 1 Wed 10 May 2023 01:11PM UTC
Last Edited Wed 10 May 2023 02:08PM UTC
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Angela (Guest) on Chapter 2 Wed 10 May 2023 04:35PM UTC
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Kinexie on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Sep 2023 08:33PM UTC
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Experiment_ur_mom3 on Chapter 2 Thu 01 Feb 2024 05:06PM UTC
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Angela (Guest) on Chapter 4 Sun 14 May 2023 05:16PM UTC
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Angela (Guest) on Chapter 5 Wed 17 May 2023 05:20PM UTC
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SOBQJMV_Sphinx on Chapter 5 Sat 27 May 2023 06:33PM UTC
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Angela (Guest) on Chapter 5 Mon 05 Jun 2023 01:33PM UTC
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Experiment_ur_mom3 on Chapter 5 Sat 12 Aug 2023 09:18PM UTC
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Experiment_ur_mom3 on Chapter 6 Sat 29 Jul 2023 06:01PM UTC
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