Stranger Things Imagines

Stockholm Syndrome

Why do I have this strange feeling? I have a great life now that I'm living with the Byers family - but recently my mind has been occupied with a worse part of my life. Is it possible that I miss the lab? Could I really be missing him?

With Mike in town, El has been planning to do everything with him - which I understand. It just means that I've been getting left out - but so has Will. With Joyce running errands, Jonathan and Argyle working, and El and Mike out doing god knows what, Will and I are home alone. Him and Jonathan have become great brothers to me.

Despite watching Ghostbusters, I find myself totally spaced out. Usually, we always quote whatever we're watching. However, when I miss a line, Will is confused.

"You didn't do it." He gasps dramatically and stares at me with wide eyes.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." I snap out of my thoughts.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just miss everyone back home." Technically, I'm telling the truth.

"Yeah, me too. We should call them." Will pauses the film and springs out of his seat before heading to the phone.

"Can I talk to you about something?" I blurt out before he can dial a number.

"Yeah, of course. Anything." He replies and puts the phone down. "Is everything okay?" He asks with concern as he sits back on the couch.

"Yeah, it's just... I don't know..." I struggle to find the right words. "Lately, I've just had this weird feeling."

"What kind of feeling? Do you need a doctor? I can call Jonathan."

"No, no. It's nothing like that." I chuckle slightly at his panic.

"Oh. What is it then?"

"This is gonna sound absolutely insane. It's almost like I miss the lab."

"Really? You miss that place?" I can feel some judgement through his confusion.

"Well, yeah... But no... Of course not... Maybe... I don't know what I'm thinking anymore." I sigh as I give up - regretting even bringing it up.

"I'd say I get like that sometimes with the upside down, but that has never happened." He tries to sympathise.

"Obviously not. I mean why would you, right?" I laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

"Y/N, they tortured you there for years. I mean what is there to miss?" I sit in silence for a minute, trying to think of what to say before letting out a sigh.

"There... There was this guy."

"Papa?" Will assumes.

"No. No, he was better than papa. He was sweeter and far more kind in a single day than papa ever was. He actually cared for us. The other kids were brutal towards El and I. He always looked out for us. Being a few years older than the other kids, I had more of an understanding of how people operated. I looked up to him. I always tried to be like him. If he got caught being kind to us or interfering, he would be punished. Tortured for his humanity." I explain with a few tears generating as Will listens with a true interest.

"What happened to him?"

"He... He tricked us. Turns out he was 001 - the person we thought didn't exist. Papa put something in his neck that took his power away and imprisoned him as an orderly to keep him from telling anyone."

"How did he trick you?"

"He saw we were both the most vulnerable and the most powerful. He found away to avoid cameras and papa and made a plan with us. We found an exit and we planned our escape. When we realised he wasn't coming with us because of the thing in his neck, I took pity and removed it because of how he treated us. That was the biggest mistake I could've made and he didn't doubt that I'd do it. Not even for a second. We were immediately chased by guards. That's when we found out about his powers and that he was 001. He killed the guys who threatened us - told us to wait where it was safe. El didn't listen and I had to follow her."

"What did you find?"

"He killed them all. All the other kids were murdered by him. Those who bullied us and those who merely existed there. It was a massacre. The man that stood in front of us wasn't the man I knew. He had a whole monologue wanting us to help him reshape the world. I was frozen with fear and shock and disbelief. But El... She fought back. I watched as she killed him - banished him from existence. His body was gone as if he never existed."

"He sounds like a terrible person. How could you miss someone like that?"

"Because for years before that moment, he was the only person who had a smile and would treat us like human beings. He'd encourage us and the reassuring looks he'd give me... It made things seem a little better than they were."

"I guess that makes sense. But it's better now. You have us. And I swear we aren't gonna turn evil." He laughs to ease the tension.

"Something I remember so vividly is a conversation we had one day when he visited my room. He told me about how fascinating spiders were and how they're always misunderstood. Since then, I've looked at them differently. In times where I feel bored or lonely, I give names to any spiders I see and pretend we're friends. There's been one by my bed for a couple months now. I named it after him because something about it just reminded me of him. Is that weird?"

"Who's to say what's weird anymore?" Will shrugs with a small smile.

"I've always had some strange connection with him. Kind of like you and the mind flayer. I think that spider is a sign. I think he's trying to tell me something."

"What do you mean? He's dead. El killed him, you said so yourself."

"I don't think he actually died. El sent him through the wall but it was like a portal or a gate to what I assume is the upside down. It shut as soon as he went through."

"You think he's wandering around in the upside down?"

"If he is, he's looking for revenge." I look into his eyes with an urgency as my heart drops. "We need to go back to Hawkins."