Henry x Eleven | Stranger Things

It's Always Been Us

One.

Eleven.

One.

Eleven.

That’s how it had always been just One and Eleven. As far back as Eleven could remember it had always been her and One.

One, the boy who had told her of a world outside. The boy who had taught her about how being different wasn’t bad. The boy who told her about how Papa was mean and cruel, of how he wanted to control the two maybe even have her killed. The boy who said her mom was alive and promised to help her find a way out together. The boy who was fond of spiders and did not care to be part of society’s mindless play.

The day the two had escaped the lab was just a simple step to the long journey the two had ahead of them. Each and every thing that happened after was a thing Eleven memorized, almost every memory was something the two did in pairs. The day Eleven found out she loved Eggos, which happened to be the same day One found out he hated coffee. The time Mike, Lucas, and Dustin had lied about Eleven being Mike’s cousin was followed up with One being introduced as her older brother.

They enjoyed being happy and being in each other’s comfort, it was just so easy for the two to cling to each other after everything they had gone through. Things had seemed to be going well, One and Eleven making terrific progress in their past traumas and troubles. One had gone through a significant increase in being nice and even showing more emotions, emotions that he had locked away a long time ago due to what Hawkins did to him.

That was until the Mind Flayer, or Spider Monster if you wanted to pinpoint it down to the exact form that caused the most pain. The Mind Flayer set him back so many steps, all those years and all those happy memories down the drain. That whole year of being happy with Eleven and the two making friends, finally learning to trust in the world and trust in others. All of it down the drain because of what happened to Billy, what happened to Hopper, and what almost happened to Eleven.

That single instance of so much pain being inflicted brought One back to his old mentality. The thoughts of people bringing harm to those that didn’t deserve it. It made him angry and wanted him to bring peace to the harmed, made him lose his faith in humanity again. Being forced to move also brought back unhappy memories, knowing that it would not be any different in California.

It’s the little things that One does for Eleven that keeps her going. Some days it’s things like tormenting Angela by making her trip down the stairs, other times it’s making her drop her lunch on herself on particularly horrible days where Eleven is practically crying to One, or even causing one of the blonde's little bully friends to accidentally step on her new, clean shoes. These are the types of things that help Eleven realize that One isn’t all bad and he still has some boundaries and care for others.

Sometimes Eleven notices the looks One gives her at dinner or the lingering touches as he brushes her hair. She tries not to make a scene of the way the other past test subject will let his hands wander while helping her fix her bra, the way he sometimes cups his hands over her breasts and watches her for a reaction. She makes no comment of it to Joyce or Will or anyone because she trusts One and he’s always been there for her.

When Mike decides to drop by California to come visit she notices the looks One gives him and the tension between the two as the black haired boy greets the blonde. It’s the way One wraps an arm around Eleven before giving her a small smile as he suggests for all of them to head to the skating rink. It’s how One is so quick to drop his usual gentle smile to a neutral face the second he sees Angela, knowing the bully was here to only cause more torture to Eleven’s already cruel day to day life.

Eleven stands there as Angela instructs her to wait, knowing against her better judgement to do what her tormentor says. She looks at the booth as the DJ makes a cruel joke and she finds herself alone for the very first time in forever. She watches Mike attempt to get the DJ to stop playing the music, knowing that despite his best efforts that it was all in vain.

One simply watches from the table as he notices Eleven looking as lost and helpless as he remembers her being so many years ago, just how she was when he first helped her out. He gets up from the table and notices Angela skate by with a milkshake in hand. He glances around before slowly making his way over. He allows the lights in the building to flicker as he focuses on Angela, knowing the girl was up to no good given one of her friends stood off to the side with a camera in hand. He swore to himself that nothing bad would happen to Eleven ever again.

Eleven watches Angela appear with a drink in hand, hearing the DJ call out the words, “Wipeout.” She closes her eyes and waits for the drink to splash her and ruin her dress, which she chose specifically for this little get together with Mike and the others. She stands there for half a minute before slowly opening her eyes. She looks down as she notices Angela getting up from the floor, having slipped last second and dropped the milkshake onto herself. She looks up as she sees One skate up to her and past Angela, who was trying her best to keep her composure despite the public humiliation.

“I believe it’s time to go, Jane.” One suggests as he extends a hand, Eleven simply staring at him. He gives her a small smile and stares back, giving her that same look he had years ago when he greeted her in the Rainbow Room.

Eleven takes a few seconds before she nods and accepts her fellow past test subject's hand. “You’re right Peter.” she says as she nods and allows herself to be pulled towards him, she notes the small dried up blood under his nose and the warm, comforting feeling of being so close to him.

“Goodbye Angela. Have fun wiping that out of your clothes.” One teases as he slowly skates off, Eleven following behind him. He slows to a stop once he feels the change of flooring go to carpet.

“What the hell happened out there?” Mike wonders as he approaches the two, who were unknowingly still hand in hand. He doesn’t even notice this as he tries to piece together what was going on.

“Angela tripped. It was an accident.” Eleven lies as she looks at Angela, who was being helped up by Jake and her other friends. She smiles as One looks at her with a soft look, one that he holds exclusively for her.

“She should be more careful. Eleven tells me that happens more than enough at school.” One agrees as he looks from Eleven to Mike. “Not that Joyce trusts me anywhere near the school.” he states as he shakes his head.

Eleven and the others decide to leave the skate rink and make their way home. It’s been more than an eventful enough day with all that has happened. One and Eleven hang back behind Will and Mike, walking at a slower than usual pace. Eleven doesn’t bother to pull her hand from One’s grip. It reminds her of the day they left the Hawkins Lab, hand in hand and together.